Fire and Ice II: Outsider
by Elorendil
Summary: A continuation of the Fire and Ice series. Thrawn takes Chiara home to Csilla in preparation for his new assignment. Can their fledgling relationship stand the strain of the persecution that awaits them? Will they find a way for her to prove her worth to Chiss society, or will she be forever viewed as an outsider? Rated T for SciFi violence. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars! Chiara is my own invention, but all characters and worlds are the property of LucasFilm.

AN: Alright, guys, time to get started on the next story! If you didn't read Pride & Prejudice, you may want to go back and read it before starting this one. You can probably catch on okay without it, but I think you will understand and appreciate Thrawn and Chiara's relationship a lot better. I'm probably not going to be able to keep up the updating speed I had on Pride & Prejudice, there's just too much going on in my life! That, and 56k words in three weeks is pretty crazy. I'll certainly try for a couple of updates a week, though. I'm pretty excited to explore Csilla, as well as Thrawn's relationship with Thrass, since we don't get much in Zahn's books. As always, reviews are much loved and appreciated.

* * *

**Prologue**

The sun beat down mercilessly on Chiara as she stood with one hand upraised, forehead knitted in concentration.

"Can you move it half a _berbun'ah _to the left?" a voice called to her.

"It's not that exact of a science, Thisa," she gritted out. She didn't point out the fact that she had no idea how big a _berbun'ah_ was, to begin with. Nevertheless, she did her best to shift the sheet of siding material that she was holding aloft with the Force slightly to the left.

"There! Hold it there, please," Thisa told her. Sweat ran down into her eye, stinging, but she didn't dare to break her concentration enough to raise her other hand to wipe it away. She heard someone approach and stop just behind her, but she kept her focus on Thisa and the siding she was holding in place for him to weld down. He had been released back to full duty by the medics only that morning, but he was eager to help with the rebuilding efforts and had conscripted her to work with him. In the two weeks since their defeat of the Eeleme, the base had had already made huge strides towards reconstructing the base.

Chiara waited until Thisa had welded the sheet in place before releasing her Force grip on it and turning to the warrior who was waiting respectfully behind her. The change of attitude in the Chiss warriors since the battle was quite marked and very welcome. "The Commander requests your presence, Jedi," the warrior told her.

A smile tugged at one corner of her lips. She wasn't quite sure which of Thrawn's warriors was responsible for shortening her title to "Jedi," but it had caught on pretty quickly. Most of the warriors seemed uncomfortable with calling her Chiara and she wasn't fond of having her entire title and name rattled off constantly, so she had accepted them calling her this. They said it with a great deal of respect and none of the rancor she was used to when people in the Republic shortened her title to merely "Jedi." It was refreshing. "Tell the Commander that I will be there shortly," she told the warrior. He gave her a brisk nod and hurried off. "Thisa, can you finish up without me? Thrawn apparently wants something."

"I think we both know what he wants," Thisa said mischievously. "Go on, I can finish up here. I'd hate to keep the Commander waiting."

Unable to find a witty comeback for that, Chiara headed for the quarters that she shared with Thrawn. The barracks had been one of the first things to be rebuilt, but Thrawn's collection of artwork had been destroyed during the bombardment and their small apartment felt bare without it. She knew Thrawn had been rather upset by the loss, but he hadn't wanted to get anything new when Ar'alani had warned that he would probably be reassigned shortly. She made a quick stop in the 'fresher to wash away the dirt and sweat from working on the rebuilding project and plaited her hair back in a single, long braid that fell nearly to her waist. Out of long habit, she looked around for her lightsaber before she remembered that hers had been destroyed. She headed to Thrawn's office and keyed the door chime and went in.

"Chiara, I have news," Thrawn told her with a smile, offering her his datapad. She accepted it and sat down in one of the chairs across from him. She glanced at the text and saw that it was a copy of his new orders. She sifted slowly through the Cheunh, wanting to make sure she was reading it correctly.

"We're going to Csilla?" she asked.

"We are, indeed. My replacement should be here in about a week. Once we get to Csilla, we will get more details about my new assignment to the Crustai system and begin preparations to establish a base there. We will also have the chance to use some of my leave before we go, since there won't be any chance to take a leave of absence for quite some time when we go there," he told her. "I can show you my homeworld and introduce you to my brother, Thrass."

Chiara smiled. "That sounds wonderful."


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Wow, thanks to all who have already followed! Meline387, thanks for the review, I'm excited for the new story, as well! I've always imagined Thrass as younger than Thrawn - I feel like that would annoy Thrawn a little bit more, that his younger brother feels the need to interfere with his personal life and decisions.

Oh, someone asked me the other day about how to pronounce Chiara's name. It should be pronounced Key-are-ah. When I invented her character years ago, it was originally spelled Kiara, but then Lion King 2 came out and stole that spelling (that dates her character concept a little, LOL!), so I went with an alternate spelling, but it is still said the same way.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Three weeks later, Chiara found herself back on the _Springhawk_'s bridge, looking down at a cold, white planet.

"Welcome to Csilla," Thrawn murmured beside her. He stepped away annd raised his voice to address the bridge crew. "Helm, take us in and begin landing procedures."

It didn't take long for them to put down in a hangar that had been carved into the layer of ice that covered the planet. The _Whirlwind _and the _Nightshade _set down on either side of them and their complement of clawcraft landed behind them in perfect formation.

Thrawn gestured towards the bridge door. "Shall we?"

They found a small welcome party awaiting them at the foot of the boarding ramp. A tall Chiss male dressed in a pristine white uniform with a regal bearing stepped forward to address them. "In the name of the Chiss, I greet you. We thank you for your service and welcome you home."

Thrawn inclined his head slightly. "Do you guarantee my safety and the safety of my crew?"

"I guarantee your safety with my life and the lives of those at my command," the white-clad Chiss intoned.

"Admiral, may I present Jedi Master Chiara Matao of the Galactic Republic. Chiara, this is Admiral In'trinala of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet," Thrawn said, the welcoming ceremony apparently at an end.

"It is an honor to meet you, Admiral," Chiara greeted him, giving a half-bow.

The Admiral's expression tightened just noticeably. "Commander, why have you brought this outsider here?" he demanded, ignoring her greeting.

"She is under my protection, Sir," Thrawn answered, his voice going a little stiff as he protectively took half a step towards her.

The Admiral, Chiara noted, did not look pleased about that. "I see. You are free for the rest of theh day, Commander. Report at 0900 tomorrow for your new assignment."

"Yes, Admiral," Thrawn replied. He gave Chiara a microscopic smile as he lead her toward the hangar bay exit. Although they were in a cave made of ice, Chiara noted that the temperature was cool, but comfortable.

Thrawn lead her through a short tunnel shored up with metal walls into an incredibly large cavern. Huge lights were suspended from the dome-like celinging, illuminating a large, bustling city.

"I knew your cities were under the ice, but I wasn't prepared for anything so spectacular. Which city is this?" she breathed.

"This is Csaplar," he told her. "Our house is this way."

_Our house_. Chiara still felt odd just having a few meager possessions; the thought of owning a home filled with belongings was completely beyond her. Thrawn pointed out a few places of interest to her as they made their way through the city.

"The base is over there," he said, indicating a sprawling series of connected buildings. "The market is over there, so it is easily within walking distance." It didn't take them long to reach a residential area. Thrawn threaded his way through the buildings and stopped in front of a modest, moderately-sized house that faced the base. "And here we are," he said, pressing his hand against the door sensor.

The front door slid open to reveal a comfortable looking living area and compact kitchen. Chiara stepped in and saw three doors leading off the main area. She noted Thrawn's ever-present artwork scattered around the room.

"What do you think?" Thrawn prompted, putting his arms around her and kissing the tip of her ear.

"It looks very comfortable. It's perfect," she told him.

He gently spun her around and brushed his lips against hers. She signed against the warmth of his lips and returned his tender kiss. His hands tugged the hem of her shirt upwards.

"Were you planning on showing me the rest?" she chastised him in a softly teasing tone, pushing him away.

Now it was his turn to sigh, but his sounded more like it was out of frustration than contentment. "As you wish," he replied smoothly, his glowing eyes flaming with desire as he took hand and lead her towards the door on the left. "This is our bedroom."

"Mmm," she said, raising his hand to her lips. "Save that one for last."

Thrawn's eyes flashed in amusement and anticipation as he lead her instead to the one on the right. "This is my study..."

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Chiara and Thrawn went to the market to pick up some food for dinner. His cooler had been stocked for him prior to their return, but Thrawn had wanted to make something specific that he apparently hadn't been able to get while on the base. Chiara was eager to go with him to see and experience more of the Chiss culture.

After they picked up a few ingredients for dinner, Thrawn suggested she stop in a clothing shop to pick up a few pairs of clothing. Apparently, they had been breaking rules on the base by allowing her to wear extra uniforms. Now that they were back on Csilla, Thrawn seemed this wasn't a good idea to continue and she only owned one civilian set of clothing. He had something to pick up a few shops farther down the row, so he told her to go in and start looking and he would join her shortly.

Chiara ignored the politely curious looks that many of the Chiss in the marketplace gave her, as well as the openly wary or hostile expressions of a few. She had traveled to hundreds of worlds in her life and never felt so out of place, before. She was the only non-Chiss to be seen in a sea of blue skin and glowing eyes. She slipped into the clothing shop and breathed a sigh of relief at being away from their prying eyes. Although they were too polite to openly question her, she could feel their inquisitiveness and vague distrust through the Force.

_This is going to take some getting used to_, she thought as she moved through the stacks of clothing.

"Good afternoon and welcome," an smoothly modulated voice greeted her in Cheunh.

"Good afternoon. I thank you for your welcome," she answered in Minnisiat, using the formal reply that Thrawn had taught her. Keenly aware of the tension that suddenly filled the air, Chiara studiously kept her attention on the tunic she had been considering as a tall, middle-aged Chiss male appeared from behind one of the displays. He hissed in displeasure as he caught sight of her.

"What are you doing here, outsider?" He demanded, snatching the tunic from her grasp. "My wares are not made for the likes of you."

Chiara felt her stomach twist. "My apologies, I meant no disrespect," she assured him, backing towards the door. She went outside and waiting for Thrawn, even more acutely aware of the curious and inhospitable glances that the Chiss passerbys were throwing her way.

It came as a relief when Thrawn appeared through the crowd, a compact package tucked under one arm and a bag of groceries in hand. He frowned when he noticed that she was empty-handed.

"Did you not find anything you liked?" he asked.

Chiara ducked her head in embarrassment. "No. The proprietor, ah... he chased me out for being an alien."

Thrawn's face hardened into an unreadable mask. "Did he?" He took her elbow and inexorably steered her back towards the door of the shop.

"Thrawn, it's fine. Let's just go home," she pleaded.

"No, it's not," he told her firmly. "We are going to go back in there and get what we came for."

The shopkeepers expression darkened when he saw her come back in. "I told you-" he started.

"Chaf'ist'asa," Thrawn interrupted smoothly, shifting his package to the other side so he could put his arm around Chiara's waist in a clearly protective gesture. "Is there a problem here?"

Chaf'ist'asa looked from Thrawn to Chiara, to the shiny new command insignias on Thrawn's collar, then to where his hand rested almost casually on Chiara's hip. "Ah, no, Sir. Not if she is with you," he said grudgingly.

"Good," Thrawn said coolly, holding his gaze for a few more seconds. "Go on," he murmured in Chiara's ear in Basic. She hesitated another moment before she stepped away from him and resumed her browsing.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Wow, guys! I can't believe how many favorites/follows I've already gotten. Thank you to Amarilyne, GabrielaTJ, Madame Jocasta, Stardust585, Thrawn74, al'verde and meline387! You guys are what makes writing this stuff really worth it.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The next day, Chiara woke to find Thrawn already gone. Apparently, he had decided to go in earlier than the 0900 he had been ordered to report at. She took her time getting dressed, wandering around their room and trying to wrap her head around the idea that all this was hers. Thrawn had cleared two entire drawers for her in the elaborately carved storage unit in their room, despite her protests that she could never possibly need that much space. When she had tried to just pick two outfits the night before, he had proceeded to pick another three for her, shaking his head in amusement at the scantiness of her chosen wardrobe.

When she headed to the kitchen for breakfast, she found a note from Thrawn under the parcel he had picked up the night before. The note was a brief reminder that he would be at the base, along with instructions on how to heat the lunch he had left for her. She smiled at his thoughtfulness and picked up the compact box he had left for her. At least now she recognized a present when she saw it. The box was relatively lightweight and fit easily into the palm of her hand. Wondering what he had gotten her now, she carefully lifted the lid to peek inside and gasped in surprise and delight. Nestled inside a protective wrapping of cloth was a beautiful crustal about the size of her thumb. She had been searching for a crystal to use for her new lightsaber, but hadn't had any success in finding a suitable option. She'd shown Thrawn the specifications of what she needed but hadn't expected anything to come of it. Clearly, he was a lot more resourceful than she had given him credit.

She held the silvery-white crystal up to the light, admiring the perfect facets and the brilliant rainbow of color it threw on its surroundings as it refracted the light. Watching the colors play across the floor, she wondered what color blade it would produce. She'd always had a brightly colored blade, in the past. There was only one way to find out.

Breakfast forgotten, she hurried into the study where Thrawn had cleared a space on his desk for her lightsaber project. Most of the wiring and other parts were ready. The design she had etched into the hilt closely mirrored that of her last lightsaber: the same Jedi Code wound around the top of the hilt. She hadn't been able to settle on a text to replace the names of the dead that had been memorialized on her previous lightsaber, yet. Now, as she carefully eased the crystal into the primary crystal chamber and worked on tuning the focusing lens to the crystal's frequency, an old Ka'asaran poem came back to her.

* * *

A few hours later, she was just putting the finishing touches on the circuitry of her lightsaber when she heard the front door chime and then open.

"I'm in here, Thrawn," she called in Basic. She realized belatedly when she didn't get an answer from the visitor that it didn't feel at all like Thrawn. She stood hastily and brushed bits of wiring from her tunic before hurrying into the living room.

"I beg your pardon," she said, switching from Basic to Minnisiat. "I thought you were Thrawn, for a moment." Indeed, the Chiss in her doorway looked enough like Thrawn that he could have easily been mistaken for him. His clothes had a decidedly un-military cut to them, though. "You must be Thrawn's brother, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis. Welcome to our home. Please, enter in peace and in trust," she said, using the proper Chiss greeting. His dark expression quickly turned to a scowl.

"Where is my brother?" he demanded, not bothering to respond to her greeting.

Chiara carefully kept her expression neutral, ignoring what she knew was a hugely rude action by not giving the correct answer to her welcome. "Thrawn is at the base." She glanced at the chrono and was surprised to see how late it had gotten. _I guess Thrawn isn't the only one who has a tendency to lose track of time while working._ "He should be home in about twenty minutes. You are welcome to come in and wait for him."

"Thank you," Thrass said stiffly and with just a trace of sarcasm. He crossed to one of the chairs and sat down, ignoring her completely. Chiara took a chair across from him and spent a few minutes in awkward silence as Thrass studiously avoided her gaze.

"Would you like a drink?" she offered after a few minutes, standing.

"No," he said flatly.

Chiara went to the kitchen to get a drink for herself, anyway, just to have something to do. She could practically feel the hostility rolling off of him. Thrawn had told her of his suspicion that Thrass had been in the arranged pairing of him and Mitth'arl'isa and warned her that Thrass was not likely to be happy about what he undoubtedly saw as a foolish decision to take her under his protection. He had been planning a solo visit to Thrass to try and clear the air a bit on the subject before introducing them, but clearly that wasn't going to happen.

She took her time pouring herself a glass of _ven'nasi_ juice before she rejoined Thrass in the living room. The tension in the room had risen to a palpable level by the time that Thrawn finally arrived.

"Good evening," she greeted Thrawn in Minnisiat. "We have a visitor." She resisted the urge to add in Basic that the disdain that he was treating her with clearly showed that he thought she was the scum of the galaxy. She was pretty sure Thrawn could tell from the tension lines that interrupted her otherwise pleasant expression that things weren't going quite so well.

Thrawn paused long enough to give her an apologetic smile and brush her cheek comfortingly with his fingertips before turning to his brother. If Thrass hadn't been happy simply with her presence in his brother's house, he was positively glowering over their brief exchange.

"Thrass, it is good to see you," Thrawn said, crossing to grip his brother's arm just below the elbow. "I had intended to visit you in the morning. You are most welcome here, though. I see you have already met Chiara."

Thrass cast an unreadable glance in her direction. "Yes, I met the outsider. We need to speak, Thrawn," he said coldly in Cheunh.

"Anything you wish to say, you can say in front of Chiara," Thrawn replied in Minnisiat, a slight edge creeping into his tone.

"Thrawn, it's fine," Chiara assured him, putting a hand on his arm. "I'll go make you a drink while you two talk." She turned towards the kitchen, knowing that Thrawn knew her exemplary hearing would still enable her to hear their every word. Thrass didn't know that, though.

"Thrass," Thrawn started as soon as she had vanished into the kitchen, a note of warning in his normally smooth tone.

"Thrawn, what in the Ascendancy do you think you're doing?" Thrass demanded in Cheunh, cutting him off. "Have you gone mad?"

"And what were you thinking by trying to force me into a pairing with a woman I had never even seen before?" Thrawn bit out.

"I was thinking of your career goals, which you have apparently forgotten," Thrass snapped back. "Syndic Mitth'arl'isa would have made an advantageous match for you. Much better than that outsider."

"That 'outsider' is the woman I have chosen," Thrawn said icily. "Perhaps Mitth'arl'isa would have been a more logical choice, but she could not have made me happy."

"Happy?" Thrass mocked. "What of your happiness, Thrawn? What of honor? What of duty? The Eighth family will not stand by and allow you to rise to High Command while you are with such a woman. Our people need you, Thrawn. Do not turn your backs on them for this foreigner."

"And yet I was promoted to Force Commander after taking her," Thrawn pointed out.

"Because they didn't know. Do not expect another promotion as long as she is with you, Thrawn," Thrass warned darkly. "She will destroy you."

"The evidence would point to the contrary. She has been what saved me from destruction, not once, not twice, but three different times. I suggest you remember that, Thrass," she heard Thrawn say as she finished pouring a glass of _ven'nasi_ for him.

"Don't play games with me, Thrawn," Thrass snarled. "You are committing career-suicide, here. It's all the Eighth family has been able to talk about since you landed, yesterday. Get rid of her before it is too late."

Silence hung in the air for a moment. Chiara strained her ears to hear Thrawn speak again as she put the juice back in the cooler. "Do not ever suggest that again, Thrass," Thrawn warned in a low, deadly-serious tone. "You are my brother, but I will not tolerate such an attitude towards Chiara. She is here to stay, so you had best get used to it."

Thrass sighed in exasperation as Chiara picked up the glass and headed back to the living room. "Fine. If you want to keep her, then keep her. But what were you thinking bringing that alien whore here?"

Chiara froze as her brain finished interpreting his last sentence just as she crossed into the living room. Thrawn's eyes touched on her briefly, taking in her reaction to what she had just heard. His eyes flashed dangerously as he focused on Thrass again. "How dare you?!" he snarled. "Apologize to her. Now."

Thrass glanced at her in disdain. "Why should I? It's not like she can actually understand us."

"She may not speak Cheunh, Thrass, but she understands it perfectly. You will apologize," he repeated in a chilling tone.

"I will not apologize for speaking the truth," Thrass spat.

Thrawn rose and crossed the room in two steps, hauling his brother from his chair by one arm and pushing him towards the door. "Get out." The words came out in a voice so deadly that Chiara felt a shiver run down her spine. "If you cannot treat her with respect, then you are no brother of mine. She is my choice. Either accept that and accept her, or don't come back."

Thrass jerked his arm away from Thrawn and stood toe-to-toe with his older brother, glowering. For a horrible moment, Chiara thought they were about to come to blows, but finally Thrass backed down and turned towards the door. He paused just inside the door to look back at his brother and sighed. "I'm not your enemy, Thrawn. You've made enough of those already by allying yourself with that... woman." He practically spit the last word, then turned and hurried out the door.

Thrawn stood staring at the door for a moment before he turned back to her. The cold fury blazing in his eyes subsided to a smolder and he crossed to where she stood frozen and took her gently in his arm. "I'm sorry you had to hear that," he told her in Basic, taking the glass she still held in one hand and guiding her back into the kitchen where he could set it down.

She swallowed. "It's okay," she managed around the lump that had appeared in her throat. "I... Thank you for standing up to him. You didn't have to do that."

Thrawn frowned down at her as he cradled her against his chest. "Of course I did. Thrass may be my blood brother, but you are the woman whom I have sworn to protect. That vow includes protecting your honor."

"I'm sorry that I'm driving you two apart."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he assured her. "Thrass will come around, eventually. If not..." He shrugged. "I always knew it was a possibility. Where did you learn the word _ ch'its'ircoten_, anyway? I never taught you that."

Chiara snorted softly. "You Chiss are so literal, it doesn't take having heard that word before to figure out its meaning."

"I suppose not. Did you actually open the box that I left you, this time?" he asked, changing the subject.

She smiled up at him, the previous hour suddenly forgotten. "I did. I really don't know what to say. It's perfect."

"You don't have to say anything, Chiara. If you are happy, that is enough," he told her, kissing her tenderly.


	4. Chapter 3

AN: Thanks for the favorite, Zaconator and Zackis!

The poem in this chapter is another German poem by Friedrich Rückert and is also public domain. Once again, the translation is my own. For those who speak German, I know I took a bit of liberty by translating "Himmel" as "the stars," but "heaven" doesn't work quite so well in the Star Wars universe, so I was going with a more figurative translation, here.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"So, tell me about the new assignment," Chiara asked Thrawn after dinner.

Thrawn's eyes glittered. "I've been given command of Picket Force Two. A survey team recently returned from the Crustai system and it has been deemed a defensible position, as well as a system with multiple opportunities for colonization. We will be assigned as a scout and patrol unit for that sector. It is located on our borders, so it is likely to be much more interesting and than Csantri was."

"It sounds like an excellent assignment. Where is the base?"

"There are no plans even in place for the base, yet. Since I am the Commander, I have the opportunity to come up with my own designs and oversee its construction personally," he told her.

"Did you have any thoughts on what you want to do with it, yet?" she asked.

"I am still considering. After the events of the last few months, I want something more defensible than a planetside base. If all possible, I'd like to do something that is concealed and a bit faster to launch the ships from."

Chiara nodded. "That makes sense. Will we be going there for a visit, any time soon?"

"I was thinking that would be wise. The _Springhawk_ will be under maintenance for the next week, but we will go after that."

"So, you get to keep the _Springhawk_ and the crew? What about your other ships?"

"Yes, they make up the Picket Force Two, so all of the ships and the crews will be transferred to my command."

Chiara felt a bit relieved that she wasn't going to have to start over with gaining the respect of his warriors. It would be so much easier to just continue on with his existing crews.

"Now that you have your crystal for your lightsaber, how long will it take you to finish it?" Thrawn asked.

"It's pretty much done now, actually," she told him. "I just need to finish assembling a few pieces and then test it out."

Thrawn stood and offered her a hand up from the couch. "Why don't you finish it tonight? We can go to the training center in the morning so you can try it."

They headed to the study, where the remaining pieces lay ready for assembly on the desk. Thrawn picked up the hilt and turned it over in his hands.

"The inscription looks very similar. What does this one say?" he asked her.

"It starts the same, with the Jedi Code. After that, though, I picked few lines from a poem from my homeworld. It seemed fitting."

Thrawn traced a finger over the inscription. "And what is the poem?"

"The inscription is the final stanza, but the entire thing runs thus:

You my soul, you my heart,  
you my bliss, O you my pain,  
you my world in which I live,  
you my paradise, to which I float,  
O you my grave, into which  
I have forever cast my sorrows.  
You are rest, you are peace,  
you are given to me by the stars.  
Your love for me gives me worth,  
your glance transfigures me in my own eyes,  
you lift me lovingly above myself,  
my guardian spirit, my better self!"

Thrawn shook his head at her as she finished. "You will never cease to amaze me," he told her, putting his arms around her. "You can wreak havoc on the battlefield, negotiate impossible treaties, pick things up without even touching them, and yet even without those things, you are an incredibly exceptional woman."

Not quite sure how to respond to that, Chiara locked her hands around the small of his back and leaned her forehead against his. They stood motionless for a few moments until Chiara finally broke the silence. "Were you planning on letting me finish, tonight, or were you going to stand here and hold me captive?"

Thrawn chuckled as he released her and stepped back. "I couldn't hold you captive even if I wanted to. Go on, finish your work."

* * *

The next morning, Chiara woke to Thrawn kissing her forehead. She stretched a bit, then snuggled closer into his side. Thrawn ran his fingertips over her shoulder, looking down to where her head lay pillowed on his shoulder. "Good morning," he murmured, kissing her forehead again.

She stretched up to brush his jawline with her lips. "Good morning," she replied, studying the perfect planes of his face. _How did I end up with such an amazing man, again?_ She wondered.

After another minute, Thrawn stirred. "If you want to test out your lightsaber before I have to report for duty, we need to get going."

Chiara sighed and sat up. "I suppose so." She slipped out of bed and crossed to the storage unit, pulling her favorite dark blue, sleeveless bodysuit out and heading to the 'fresher to get dressed.

Fifteen minutes later, she and Thrawn walked side by side towards the base, the comforting weight of her lightsaber bouncing off her hip with every step as it dangled from her belt. The lights in the domed ceiling high above glowed dimly, simulating the sunrise that was taking place above the ice. There were very few Chiss out so early, but the few they did pass seemed even more interested in her than they had the day before. Apparently, word of Thrawn's attachment to her was spreading quickly.

There were quite a few warriors at the training facility, many working in small groups and a few by themselves. Thrawn lead her to an open space that looked like it was normally used for charric practice, judging by the handful of scorch marks on the wall where repeated hits from the weapon's blue fire had burned through the targets. Chiara slipped off the light jacket she had donned against the light chill in the air outside and moved to the center of the open area. She unclipped the lightsaber and checked the power setting and blade length adjustor, then thumbed the activator stud. With a satisfying _snap-hiss_, a silvery blade shot into existence. Experimentally, Chiara swung the tip of the weapon in a small arc, trying to get a feel for the way it balanced in her hand. She made a few lunges and parries at imaginary foes, then settled into a familiar set of the exercises that tested a Jedi's flexibility, stamina, and mastery of their blade. She moved slowly at first, allowing the Force to flow through her, then built her momentum as she became more familiar with her new lightsaber and it started feeling more like an extension of her arm than a foreign object.

When Chiara came to the end of the exercises, she threw in one last double-flip, landing in front of Thrawn and shutting down her lightsaber with a flourish. "That was quite a display," Thrawn said appreciatively. "How do you like it?"

She hefted the lightsaber hilt in her hand. "It's perfect. I love the color. Most lightsabers are more vibrant colors, like blue or green or sometimes yellow. You don't see many that are white or silver."

"May I?" Thrawn asked, holding out a hand. Chiara handed him the weapon and watched as he switched it on. The silvery blade cast an eery hue on his blue skin. The blade hummed through the air as he swung it gingerly.

"Okay, give it back before you chop someone's arm off," she teased him. Thrawn deactivated it and passed it back. Chiara arched one eyebrow at him. "Now to put it to the test. I don't have a training remote handy, so you'll have to do. Grab a charric."

Thrawn looked aghast. "You can't possibly be asking me to shoot at you?"

Chiara rolled her eyes at him. "Thrawn, if I can handle a dozen attackers at once, I think you can relax. Besides, you've already shot me once. What's the problem?"

"I grazed you. There's a difference," he retorted. Chiara could tell from his tone that he was both amused and worried, rather than annoyed.

"Don't make me find someone else to do it," she threatened, keeping her tone light.

"What if your blade fails?" he asked.

"I think I know how to construct a lightsaber, Thrawn. This isn't my first time. If you're that worried, though, I'll hold it off to the side for the first shot so if anything happens it won't hit me. How's that?" she offered.

Thrawn still looked a bit worried, but he slowly drew his charric from where it was holstered at his hip. "Stand over there so I can deflect the shots into the target," she instructed him, pointing off to the side. She ignited the lightsaber and held it out, away from her body.

Thrawn eyed her dubiously. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Thrawn!"

Slowly, he raised his charric and took aim. Chiara shifted smoothly to intercept the blue bolt that shot out in her general direction, deflecting it effortlessly into the target. "See? Nothing to worry about," she told him. "Come on, do it again."

Reluctantly at first, then gaining confidence as he saw how easily she intercepted and harmlessly deflected his shots, Thrawn fired at her repeatedly. His tempo gradually increased, as did the range of where he chose to place his shots. He kept her spinning and jumping this way and that, but not a single bolt made it past her. She performed a tight somersault through the air as Thrawn sent one last streak of blue fire towards her, her lightsaber hissing through the air as she reached the height of her jump and batting the bolt harmlessly into the target. She twirled her lightsaber in one hand as she landed near Thrawn, breathless with exhilaration. Thrawn shook his head at her as she shut her lightsaber down, an amused smile tugging at one corner of his lips. "That was reckless. Amazing, but reckless."

She raised one eyebrow at him as she hung her lightsaber on her belt. "Yes, and you were an active participant. What does that make you?"

"An enabler, apparently," he shot back as he glanced over her shoulder. Chiara suddenly became aware of the group of Chiss that had gathered to watch their little display. A few broke off and wandered away now that she and Thrawn were clearly done, but a few lingered to watch her with interest. One of the onlookers, a young male with striking features, swaggered up to them.

"So this is your little alien that's stirring up so much talk, is it, Thrawn? Quite a catch, if I do say so myself. If her skin weren't such an odd color, she would be an exceptional beauty." He eyed Chiara appreciatively.

"Fisix, don't be rude," Thrawn warned him, but there was no weight behind the words. He stepped forward to grip the other's arm briefly before turning back to Chiara. "Chiara, may I present Chaf'isi'xintha, an old friend of mine. Fisix, this is Jedi Master Chiara Matao of the Galactic Republic."

"But you, my lady, may call me Fisix," he said, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips with a flourish. Chiara blushed as Thrawn pried his fingers off of hers and extricated her hand for her. "How did such a lovely lady end up with an ice cube like him?" Fisix asked, jabbing Thrawn with one elbow.

"Ignore him," Thrawn told her, interposing himself between Chiara and Fisix. "He's always like this. Fisix, don't you have a job to do?"

"Thrawn! I'm hurt that you would imply that I would slack off on my duties. Don't let him sway your opinion of me, Chiara, I'm the best and most dedicated pilot in the entire Defense Fleet," he said, bowing to her.

Thrawn snorted. "Dedicated to reckless behavior and the local tapcafe." He glanced at Chiara. "I probably should keep you two separated as much as possible, you would be a recipe for disaster if put together."

"Your a fighter pilot?" Chiara asked, stepping around Thrawn. "I've always wanted to see the inside of a clawcraft, but Thrawn hasn't shown me one, yet."

"Oh-ho! Did you find yourself a budding pilot _and _ground-warrior?" Fisix asked, throwing an arm around Thrawn's shoulders. Thrawn shrugged him off.

"I've done more than my fair share of flying fighters," Chiara told him.

"Yes, and need I remind you what happened to the one I found you in?" Thrawn said drily.

Chiara colored. "It's not my fault I got attacked while flying a prototype. I think I did pretty well, all things considered."

"A prototype? So you're a test pilot?" Fisix asked, sounding impressed. He gave Thrawn a small shove. "Don't you have some papers to push? I'll keep your little Jedi entertained for the day. Go on!" he said, throwing his arm around Chiara.

Thrawn pried his fingers loose again. "Keep your fingers off of her, or I may use her lightsaber to remove them for you," he growled, sounding half-serious, half-joking. Thrawn pulled Chiara to him with great deliberation and kissed her full on the mouth. Shocked by his very uncharacteristic public display of affection, it took Chiara a moment to respond. She was breathless by the time he broke off. "I'll see you tonight," he told her in Basic as he headed off.

Fisix gave a low whistle as Thrawn walked away. "I don't know what you did to him to break through that icy exterior, but that is a whole side of him that I've never seen before. That's saying something, considering that we've known each other for most of our lives."

Thrawn turned back to them just as he reached the door. "Stay out of trouble and don't be reckless," he called to them.

"Trouble is my middle name," Fisix commented, glancing at her with one blue-black eyebrow raised. "What do you say we head down to the hangar and I'll show you my clawcraft?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"These are the steering controls," Fisix said, hanging upside down through the hatch above her and jabbing a finger at the control boards. "And these are the firing controls. Want to take her for a spin?"

Chiara looked up at him from the pilot's chair. Her fingers itched to dance across that control board and send the fighter soaring into space, but she knew that was a bad idea. She still didn't trust her skills at reading Cheunh enough to feel confident she could keep up with the readings that would start tumbling across the screens once she took off and she had never flowing anything like a clawcraft, before. "Tempting, but no. Thrawn would be the one that got into trouble for it, not me. I'm not going to do that to him."

"So considerate," Fisix said, reaching down and brushing her cheek with two fingers. Chiara batted his hand away in annoyance.

"Keep that up, Fisix, and Thrawn won't have to remove your fingers; I'll do it for him," she warned, putting a slight edge in her tone so she knew she was at least somewhat serious. "Now let me out of here."

Fisix hung suspended above her for a moment and Chiara was beginning think he was going to refuse to let her out. Finally, he laughed. "Oh, Thrawn chose well, alright. Alien or not, it takes a strong woman to put up with that man. He needs someone that can hold their own against him. Come on, let's get out of here." He pulled his torso out of the cockpit and reached a hand down to help her climb out. Ignoring his proffered hand, Chiara used the Force to jump straight up and out of the cockpit, landing easily on the hull beside him. Fisix scrambled to his feet. "Impressive," he commented, grabbing the hand rails of the ladder that lead up the side of the fighter and sliding down to the hangar deck. Chiara jumped off the side of the fighter, completing a double-flip on the way down. "Most impressive," Fisix said, eyeing her appreciatively. "What do you say to some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me. Lead the way."

"So, tell me, why is it that you can clearly understand Cheunh, but only speak Minnisiat?" Fisix asked as they walked.

"Because I can't pronounce Cheunh correctly. I've been working on it and I speak it to Thrawn, but that's about it," she told him.

"Oh, you can't be that bad," he told her. "Come on, let's hear it."

Chiara rolled her eyes. "Fine, but promise me you won't laugh."

"Promise," he said, his glowing eyes dancing with amusement.

"Alright. Where are we going, anyway?" she asked, switching to Cheunh. Fisix stopped in his tracks and looked at her. His cheek twitched once before he burst out laughing. "You said you wouldn't laugh," Chiara complained, going back to Minnisiat and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry," Fisix gasped, his laughter dying away to a chuckle. "I've just never heard a single sentence mangled so badly, before. Do it again!"

Chiara glared at him. "No."

"Don't be a spoil sport. I'm just having a bit of fun," he told her. Chiara's glare didn't lessen. "Oh, alright, I'm sorry. It was rather amusing, though."

"Tell me again how you've managed to stay friends with Thrawn all these years?" she asked sarcastically, starting back down the corridor even though she didn't have the faintest idea where they were going.

"Distance, my dear Jedi. I tried serving under his command, once, but that only lasted for about three days before he was ready to have me court martialed. We do best if we just see each other on occasion."

"I can see why," she muttered under her breath. Just then, they rounded a corner and stepped into an expansive mess hall. Chiara followed Fisix through the serving line and picked a meal she had never heard of before. Fisix lead the way to a table with several other Chiss officers already seated around it.

"Everyone, this is Jedi Master Chiara Matao," he said loudly to the occupants of the table as he sat down. "Chiara, this is Kras'hixa'nnta, Mitth'ima'saudo, Csapla'nis'ima and Prard'aith'isa." He rattled off their names so quickly that Chiara had a hard time keep track of which Chiss went with which name. Fisix shot her a smirk as she sat down next to him. "I hope you kept track of that, there's a quiz at the end."

"Fisix, shut up," the petite female that Fisix had called Csapla'nis'ima snapped. She turned to Chiara and gave her an appraising look. "So, you're the one who has caused all the uproar around here."

"It would seem so," Chiara replied, sitting down. "It's an honor to meet all of you," she added.

The male seated on her right gave her a small smile and shifted to Minnisiat. "We've all been looking forward to meeting you. I knew you had to be quite extraordinary to catch Thrawn's eye and now that I've had a chance to read his reports, I have to say I'm impressed. From all accounts, you have some very unique abilities and saved quite a few lives on multiple occasions, Thrawn included."

Chiara shrugged modestly, feeling a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny of so many glowing eyes. "I just did what I could to help. And, please, feel free to continue in Cheunh. I can understand it, I'm just not very good at speaking it."

"I'll say," Fisix snorted beside her.

"Ah, there's Thrawn," said a tall, willowy female with striking features. Chiara was pretty sure she was the one Fisix had introduced as Kras'hixa'nnta. She waived Thrawn over towards their group. When Thrawn reached the table, he very pointedly reached over Fisix's shoulder to slide his tray to the left, making room for himself next to Chiara.

"Hi," she said softly as he sat down next to her.

Thrawn brushed the back of her hand briefly under the table in greeting. "I thought you would have gotten tired of Fisix by now and gone home. I'm pleased to see you, though. I see you've already met my friends." Chiara nodded.

"We were just speculating on how long it would take you to bring her around to meet us before you two showed up," Prad'aith'isa told him. "It looks like Anisi won the bet."

"It wasn't a bet, Daithi, just a guess," she said in a prim voice as slight as her slender frame. "The odds-"

"No one wants to hear the odds, Anisi," Daithi told her not unkindly, still eyeing Thrawn. "So, tell us, Thrawn, what is it that made you choose this outsider?"

Chiara tried a bite of her meal while she waited for Thrawn to answer and nearly gagged on the overwhelming taste of spices. She grabbed her drink and downed half of it in an attempt to wash the taste from her mouth. She saw Thrawn glance at her out of the corner of his eye and smoothly switch his tray with hers. She instantly recognized the _htisahtin'casi_ sausage that they had had for during their first meal together. Apparently, he didn't mind whatever the overspiced dish was, because he took a bite of it and chewed slowly while thinking over Daithi's question.

"He doesn't have to tell us that, Daithi," the male she had tentatively identified as Mitth'ima'saudo said. "That's his own business."

"Like _ en'kar_ it is, Thimas. We went to Academy together. We've always told each other this sort of thing," Daithi retorted.

"Enough," Thrawn cut in. "Chiara is going to think you're no more than a bunch of babbling buffoons. I chose her because she is the most extraordinary woman I have ever met and because I love her."

"He's going sentimental on us," Fisix crowed, digging at Thrawn with his elbow. "He gave up his chance at High Command for _love_." Thrawn glared at him.

"And what about you, Jedi Master Chiara Matao? Why would you choose to stay here among strangers for Thrawn?" Shixan asked in a smoothly modulated tone. Chiara could feel an undercurrent of challenge behind her words, though.

Chiara looked up from her plate and into her fiery red eyes. "Please, call me Chiara," she told her. She glanced around the table to Thrawn's friends. "That goes for all of you. As for why I stayed here to be with Thrawn..." She trailed off, looking for the right words. "I've lived a long life, but I've always been alone. I never realized just how lonely I was until I met Thrawn. Why would I choose to go back to a place where I will always be alone when I could stay here and start a new life with him?"

"A long life?" Anisi questioned. "You don't even look like you're as old as Thrawn."

"I'm a lot older than him, actually," she told her. She turned to Thrawn. "How old did you say I am in Chiss years?"

"Two hundred and ninety-three," Thrawn filled in. A shocked silence fell around the table.

"Before you ask, no, I don't know if that's normal and I have no idea what species I am. No one seems to know what I am or where I came from and I've never met anyone else like me," she told them.

"Thrawn likes the older ladies, apparently," Fisix snickered.

Shixan shot him a withering look. "But then, doesn't that mean you will outlive him?" she asked.

Chiara felt Thrawn stiffen a bit beside her. Apparently, that thought hadn't occurred to him, before. "That is true, I probably will. I would rather spend one lifetime with him, though, than live all the ages alone."

"I would think that being with someone for a time would only make it harder to go back to being by yourself," Daithi pointed out.

Chiara shrugged. "Probably. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, though." She peered around Thrawn. "Fisix, what are you doing?" she asked as he catapulted a small vegetable at another warrior dressed in a pilot's uniform one table over, relieved to have a reason to change the subject. She could feel Thrawn's disquiet growing as he sat beside her, unmoving. She took his free hand while the others were distracted and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Later," she whispered to him in Basic.

"Just ignore him, he's always like this," Anisi advised her. "I heard you and Thrawn put on a show in the training facility, this morning. What were you doing?"

"Testing my new lightsaber. My old one got destroyed during the ground battle with the Eeleme and I just finished the new one last night," Chiara told her.

"It must be a delicate weapon, to have been destroyed during a battle," Daithi commented.

"I'd hardly call it a delicate weapon. I'd had that one for a very long time. The only reason it got destroyed was because I shoved it down the barrel of a laser canon and caused a massive explosion."

"How did you manage that? It wasn't clear from the reports," Thimas asked. "You'd obviously managed to disable all the other ones without destroying your weapon."

"I levitated it into the barrel while they were distracted by us surrendering," she explained.

"Levitated?" Daithi raised one blue-black eyebrow at her.

Chiara glanced at Thrawn, not sure if she should be demonstrating her powers here, and got a microscopic nod. She smoothly used the Force to pick up her glass and let it hover a few inches off the table. She sent it sideways and held it suspended in front of Daithi. Hesitantly, he reached out and plucked it from the air. "Fascinating," he said. "And is there a limit to what you can levitate?"

"Not really. If it's not anchored down, it can theoretically be levitated. I've never been terribly good at large objects, though."

"How large is large?" Thimas pressed. "Can you levitate a person?"

"Easily. I once picked up a small starfighter, but that didn't end very well. I couldn't control it well enough and ended up wrecking the fighter," she told him, thinking back to the mess that she had caused that day.

Fisix leaned forward to look at her around Thrawn. "Remind me to keep you away from my clawcraft," he growled.

"Too late, you already let me in it. It's still in one piece," she pointed out.

Thrawn looked at her. "Please tell me you didn't fly it."

"Of course not! I'm not quite that reckless. Although, he did offer to let me try it," she told him.

"You're reckless enough," he told her. She could tell from his tone that he didn't really mean it, though.

Thrawn's friends spent the rest of their lunch catching him up on their lives and what had been going on around the base. Chiara was pleased to see that all of them seemed to have accepted her fairly easily. Perhaps they just knew Thrawn well enough to know that he wouldn't be dissuaded once he had made up his mind and decided it was for the best to not even try. Whatever the reason, Chiara was glad to see that at least some of his existing relationships weren't going to suffer because of her. Shixan was a bit of a different story, though. Chiara caught a subtle hint of hostility from her, but she had a nagging suspicion that had more to do with the fact that Thrawn had chosen her rather than Shixan than it did with her being non-Chiss. She made a mental note to ask Thrawn about her, later.

As they all cleared their dishes and went their seperate ways, Thrawn paused next to Chiara. She could still feel his disquiet. "Why don't you come with me so I can show you my office?" he invited.

Chiara followed him to another building and into a nondescript, grey room with a small desk and two chairs. Without waiting for him to speak, she reached out one hand to touch his arm. "Thrawn, I'm sorry. I thought you would have thought of the fact that I don't age and the implications of that. Obviously, I shouldn't have assumed."

"How can you be so casual about it?" he asked bitterly, his glowing eyes flickering with emotion. "You've already given up everything you've ever had or known for me, and now you're giving it all up just so you can watch me grow old and then lose everything we've had together? The ultimate martyr's sacrifice." The sarcasm in the last sentence stung.

"That was uncalled for," Chiara said, trying to keep the hurt from her tone without success. "I'm not being a martyr, here, Thrawn. I know what I want, and that is to spend however much time we have together with you. I'm not being casual about it, it's just that I've already thought this through. Is it so hard for you to believe that I could choose to spend one happy lifetime with you than to spend all my life alone?"

Thrawn sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But you shouldn't have to give up so much for me, it's not right."

"It's not like you haven't given up things for me, Thrawn," she said, putting her hand on his cheek. "Everything I have given up, I gave up willingly and with full knowledge of the consequences. It's what people do for the ones they love." One corner of her mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "Maybe I'll get lucky and I'll die in some glorious battle when you are gone."

"Don't say that," Thrawn said, his forehead furrowing as he took her in his arms.

"Sorry. I'm not saying it will be easy to lose you, Thrawn. I'm sure it will be the hardest thing that will ever happen to me. What I am saying is that it's worth it, to be here with you," she said, putting her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," he said simply, holding her tight as if it might somehow give them more time together.

After a moment, Chiara stirred. "I should let you get back to your work. I'll see you tonight." Thrawn kissed her tenderly before letting her go.

Chiara paused just inside the door. "By the way, Thrawn, were you and Shixan ever seeing each other?" she asked casually.

One corner of Thrawn's mouth twitched, but his expression was unreadable. "Why do you ask?"

"I could sense a bit of resentment from her, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with me being non-Chiss. Since she has hardly known me long enough to develop any strong feelings about me, that seems like the most logical explanation."

"Ever the perceptive one. No, Shixan and I were never more than friends, though she made it clear on multiple occasions that she wanted more. Perhaps I declined her a bit too politely," Thrawn said thoughtfully.

"She clearly wasn't ready to give up on you just yet. I can't say I blame her."

"Does she make you uncomfortable?" Thrawn asked, frowning. "I can talk to her."

Chiara smiled at him and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. She probably needs some time to adjust to the fact that you're already taken. Your friends all seem to be trying to keep an open mind and accept me. Let's not shake the ship. I'll see you tonight."


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry for the delay on the last chapter, guys. I kinda got distracted by a chapter that occurred to me for the next installment and had to write it out before I forgot it. I'm actually really looking forward to getting into the next story, it has a lot of potential and a very different tone than the first two. But, for now, I will try to discipline myself to work on this one!

There is just one lonely little review sitting on this story, ATM. He's all alone and by himself. Write a friend for him? ;-)

* * *

**Chapter 5  
**

The next few days passed uneventfully and Chiara gradually began to slightly less uncomfortable among the throngs of Chiss that she always encountered whenever she went out. She had started walking to the base in the afternoons to meet Thrawn and his friends for lunch. She appreciated the fact that they were making a genuine effort to include her in their little circle. She found that Thimas was quick to laugh and he seemed to take delight in questioning the rules. Apparently, he'd been demoted on two separate occasions for taking his questioning a little too far with a commanding officer who was less than tolerant, but that didn't seem to dampen his enthusiasm. Daithi was a walking encyclopedia on Chiss law and seemed to enjoy spouting off bits of it just to annoy Thimas and spark debates. Anisi was just as prim and proper as Chiara's first impression of her indicated and she had a head for numbers and navigational data. She was also a member of the Ruling Family that governed Csaplar, as her name hinted. Shixan still tended to give off a vibe of jealousy and general distaste for Chiara, but she did a good job of hiding it and was generally polite to her. And Fisix was Fisix, there was no better way to describe him. He was the epitome of the jock fighter stereotype that was so common in the Galactic Republic. He seemed to take a fiendish delight in tweaking Thrawn and often used blatant overtures towards to Chiara to do so. Chiara found his antics to be amusing and had taken an instant liking to the ridiculous man.

On the fifth day since their arrival, Chiara was curled up on the couch with a book of ancient Chiss legends that Thrawn had given her when the door chimed. She carefully set the book down, taking care not to damage the pages. Reading a printed book instead of just viewing it on a datapad was a novel experience and one she was enjoying thoroughly. In the Republic, printed books were usually locked away in a museum, their information stored on datacards for disemmenation and use.

She crossed to the door and keyed it open, wondering who the caller could be. The door slid open to reveal Thrawn's younger brother.

"Syndic Mitth'ras'ssafis," Chiara said a bit stiffly. "I'm afraid Thrawn isn't here. Perhaps you should come back later." She moved to key the door shut again.

"I didn't come to talk to Thrawn," he told her in Minnisiat before she could reach the switch. "May I come in?"

Chiara hesitated for a moment, her hand hovering over the control. Finally, she stepped back and gestured him inside. "Please, enter in trust and in peace."

"I accept your welcome and greet you in return," Thrass intoned, giving her the courtesy of the proper reply, this time.

"Have a seat," she invited him, resuming her previous place and wondering what had brought him here. "What can I do for you?"

Thrass took the chair across from her. "I've been reading the reports of the encounters with the Eeleme," he told her without preamble. "And I thank you for the key role you played in those conflicts, particularly in protecting my brother at great personal expense during the initial attack. What I don't understand is why you would do that and why you would bind yourself to my brother. What do you stand to gain? He offered to return you home. Surely such an able-bodied warrior would be welcomed back with open arms. Why stay here?"

His question caught her off guard. She couldn't quite sort through the complex mix of emotions she could sense from him, but his confusion at her actions and choices was evident. _He comes from a very politically-charged culture_, she realized. _The Chiss I've met all seem to measure their actions against the political consequences. It makes sense that he would think I do the same, and none of what I have done since I got here has really made any sense by those standards._

"What do I stand to gain?" she repeated, thinking. "Syndic Mitth'ras'safis, I didn't make my decision for any political gain. Yes, I would have been welcomed back to Coruscant with open arms. I'm sure they all think I'm dead by now and would be glad to find out otherwise. But how can I go back to that after everything I've seen here? The Jedi are forbidden to love, forbidden to hold possessions, forbidden to have attachments of any kind. I have spent my entire life running around the galaxy, serving others and solving disputes of every kind imaginable. I did all of that alone. Technically speaking, the Jedi Temple was my home, but I was never there. Out of the last five years, I think I have spent perhaps six days there. Here, I get to wake up every morning next to an incredible man who loves me and who wants to be with me because of who I am, not because of what I can do for him. I have friends. I have a home. I have the opportunity to serve and protect those whom I've built relationships with instead of of just solving petty disputes between two groups that I will never see again. I would much rather stay here and share the rest of my life with your brother than continue with that miserable and lonely existence. I never realized just how much more there was to life until I met Thrawn. How could I possibly leave him and go back, after all that he has shown me?"

Thrass regarded her in silence for a moment. "You really do love him, don't you?" he said finally.

"More than anything."

"And yet you're still willing to selfishly let him sacrifice his career for you."

"I trust him to know best what will make him happy. I want what's best for him, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis. If that coincides with what is best for the Chiss, so be it. If not..." She shrugged. "This is a decision that I cannot and will not make for him. We've both made a lot of sacrifices for each other. If he had wanted to pursue his career, I would have gone back to the Republic without a single complaint. Not because it would have been easy, but because I care too much about him to make that kind of a decision any harder on him. To my everlasting surprise, though, he didn't want me to leave. He actually got rather upset when I suggested it. Who am I to tell him that he has to sacrifice his happiness for his career?"

Thras sighed in resignation, studying the painting that hung on the wall behind her. "I only hope he doesn't regret his decision later."

"So do I," she said soberly.

"I suppose I owe you an apology for my behavior when we met a few days ago," he said after a moment, meeting her gaze again.

"No apology is needed, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis," she assured him. "You were just trying to look out for your brother."

"Nevertheless, I should not have used the language I did about you and you have my sincere apology, Jedi Master Chiara Matao. And you might as well call me Thrass," he told her.

"I accept your apology, Thrass. Please, call me Chaira."

Thrass inclined his head in acknowledgement and acceptance. Just then, the front door opened to admit Thrawn. His already dark expression got even darker when he saw Thrass.

"What did I tell you?" he demanded in a tone icy enough to freeze over the deserts of Tatooine. "If you have been insulting-"

"Thrawn," Chiara broke in soothingly, holding up a hand to placate him. "It's fine. We were just talking."

Thrawn's eyes narrowed as he looked from her to Thrass. "I would like to speak to Chiara," he told his brother frigidly. "Alone."

Thrass cleared his throat and stood. "Perhaps I should just go."

"I think you should stay," Thrawn said, a hint of a threat creeping into his voice. Thrass locked gaze with Thrawn for a moment, then sat down. Chiara lead the way to the study, Thrawn close on her heels.

"What did he say to you?" Thrawn demanded as soon as the door was closed, gripping her arm.

"Would you calm down? He's been nice. A lot nicer than you are being right now, in fact," she told him, prying his fingers off her bicep.

Thrawn took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. Today didn't go well at the base and-" he broke off and shook his head. "Why did he come?"

"Never mind Thrass, what happened?"

Thrawn's jaw tightened. "I got dressed down by one of the admirals in front of several other officers for bringing you to Csilla."

Chiara sighed and put a comforting hand on his arm. She didn't mind the hostility that was directed at her quite so much, but she hated seeing Thrawn persecuted for choosing to be with her. "I'm sorry. Was it bad?"

"Yes. Apparently, they found out about you the day after they dispatched Admiral Ar'alani my promotion orders. They tried to recall her, but her ship had an unexplained failure of the communications array. The Admiral felt the need to say this in front of the others."

"How convenient. They aren't trying to demote you, are they?"

"No. High Command signed the promotion orders. Technically speaking, they cannot rescind those orders without evidence of dereliction of duty or for other disciplinary reasons. Their only chance was to tell Admiral Ar'alani to destroy those orders and pretend they never happened."

"At least that's something," she said encouragingly.

"I suppose it is. Now, what did Thrass want?" he asked in a marginally more calm tone.

"He just wanted to talk. He asked me why I didn't go back to the Republic and why I let you sacrifice High Command for me."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him the truth, that I like it here with you and that I would never presume to make such a weighty decision for you. He actually seems to have accepted it, now. He even apologized for what he said the other day."

"And you are willing to accept that?" Thrawn asked her, his tone finally softening.

"I've never been much of one to hold a grudge. It's not very Jedi," she told him with a smile. "And I really do think he wants to put the other day behind us. He's the only family you have left, Thrawn. Can't you forgive him, too?"

He cocked one eyebrow at her. "Are you using your Jedi skills of conflict mediation on me, again?"

"Maybe."

"Well, then, let's go talk to him and get this over with." He lead her back out to the living room and settled onto the couch, pulling her a bit closer than necessary as she sat down beside him. He put one hand around her waist and looked at Thrass, clearly challenging him to object. Chiara could feel the lingering tension in his touch.

Thrass looked uncomfortable, but didn't comment on the display of affection. "Thrawn, I owe you an apology, as well. I shouldn't have tried to pair you with Syndic Mitth'is'arla against your will. It was done with the best of intentions, but I can see now that it was wrong. I also apologize for insulting Chiara's honor and, through that, yours." He paused and glanced at Chiara. "If this is to be your choice, then I wish you nothing less than the best together."

Chiara could feel Thrawn take a slow breath. "Your apology is accepted. And your attempt at forcing me into a pairing may not have been all bad; it forced me to act much sooner than I otherwise would have. If Chiara hadn't been with me the night of the attack, I doubt she could have made it to my quarters in time to warn me and we would probably all be dead."

"Yes," Thrass said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Thrawn considered his brother for a moment, the tension suddenly gone from his body and sense. "Would you like to join us for dinner?" he finally asked.


	7. Chapter 6

AN: Thanks for the review, al'verde! I'm glad you've enjoyed both stories. She won't be encountering the Jedi or the Republic in this story, but there will be some action on that end in the next one.

* * *

**Chapter 6  
**

Chiara was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the bedroom meditating the next day when Thrawn arrived home early. She was so caught off guard and in such a deep trance that it took her a minute to orient herself when she felt Thrawn enter. When she finally opened her eyes, she found Thrawn sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her. She blinked away the last vestiges of haze from her meditation.

"Thrawn, what are you doing home so soon?" she asked, unfolding her legs and standing up.

"Am I not allowed home before 1700?" he asked in amusement.

Chiara laughed and crossed to sit next to him. "Of course you are. I just wasn't expecting you."

"I finished going over all the reports that have come in so far about the Crustai system. Until the next transmission comes in from the survey team, there won't be much for me to do. I thought perhaps we could spend the afternoon together," he told her.

"That sounds wonderful," she told him. "I've missed having you around as much as you were back on the base."

"I know. You've been very patient with all of this. I know it can't be easy for you to suddenly be in an unfamiliar home on an unfamiliar planet, surrounded by a culture that is naturally distrustful of outsiders. I wish I could spend more time here with you. You must get lonely."

Chiara blushed a little and shrugged. "A little. I'm not at all disappointed to hear that you will be around a bit more for the next few days. Did things go a little better for you, today?"

"Yes, but you don't need to worry about that. It is nothing that I can't handle." Thrawn brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder and forced a smile for her. "Now, what should we do, this afternoon?"

"Please don't do that, Thrawn. Don't shut me out. You can't hide from me that it's still bothering you, so don't pretend that it isn't," she said, taking his hand.

The forced smile melted away and he regarded her for a moment. "Is that another Jedi thing?"

Chiara felt a hint of a smile touch her lips. "Yes. I can sense emotions. It can be difficult with a species I'm not familiar with, but the more I get to know someone, the more easily I can pick up on their feelings."

"I see. Yes, it is still bothering me. My disciplinary record is clean and I am not accustomed to being reprimanded by my superiors, especially not in front of other officers. That it is about you makes it more personal, as well. I don't like seeing you dismissed out of hand simply because you are not Chiss. I expected that it would take time for them to even be willing to accept you, but I don't see how they can ignore everything that you have done, already."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "That was a long ways away, Thrawn. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. And, yes, they may have lost the base and everyone stationed there, but it's not like the Eeleme ever posed a serious threat to the Ascendancy. They simply would have sent an entire fleet to wipe them out."

"And yet Chiss military doctrine dictates that every life must the valued and should not be thrown away rashly. How can they not see that you are the embodiment of that doctrine? You put your own life on the line constantly to protect others," Thrawn pointed out.

"They don't see because they choose not to and that may never change. Can you live with that?" she asked, wondering if he was starting to have second thoughts.

"I have already chosen to, Chiara. You don't need to doubt that," he told her gently, stroking her cheek. "It will simply take a bit more getting used to than I had anticipated."

They sat together in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Thrawn spoke. "So what would you like to do, this afternoon?"

Chiara noted his telltale emphasis on the word you and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That was the tone he always used when he was reminding her that she was supposed to be working on not always deferring to whatever she thought he wanted to do. She was getting better at not being a martyr, as he called it, but it still took considerable effort. She thought about his question for a moment. "I don't know if this is even possible, but could we go to the surface?"

Thrawn looked at her in surprise. "Why would you want do that? It's quite dangerous and not at all pleasant up there."

"I know, but I miss the sky and the stars. And I was reading this morning that there's supposed to be a pretty spectacular meteorite shower, tonight. I know it's normally pretty inhospitable with all the storms, but it's supposed to be relatively calm on the surface, today," she told him.

He shook his head at her. "Even so, it wouldn't be safe. When the storms subside, the many predators come out in force to hunt. Unless we had a ship, we'd be far too exposed. And even without any storms, we would still need environmental suits. I don't think you would find those to be terribly comfortable. Is there something else you'd like to do?"

She stifled a sigh of disappointment. "Could you read to me, then? I miss doing that."

Thrawn smiled at her. "Of course."

* * *

Thrawn had been reading to Chiara for about an hour and he could tell her mind was just beginning to wander when he set his datapad aside. "I just remembered that there was a message I meant to send before I left the base and forgot. I should take care of that before we continue," he told her, kissing her hair. His hand dropped from where it had been draped around her shoulders as she stretched languidly and sat up. "I won't be long," he promised her, stealing a brief kiss from her soft lips.

He went into the study and carefully closed the door behind himself. Sitting down at his comm station, he keyed it on. "Anisi, I need to ask for a favor..."

It only took a few minutes to make the arrangements. When he headed back out into the living room, he did his best to put on an air of disappointment. _We will see exactly how good her Jedi skills of sensing emotions are_, he thought to himself. "Chiara, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I need to leave for a bit. I've just received a message from Anisi and she has a report that she needs my help with."

"Oh." He could tell she was trying not to sound disappointed that their evening was going to be interrupted. "Well, if it's Anisi, couldn't I come along?"

"If you like. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. In fact, you might enjoy the opportunity to see another part of the city," he told her, hiding a smile. This was exactly what he had wanted her to say.

They strolled casually along the city streets together, in no particular hurry to get to their destination. Thrawn made a point of drawing Chiara's attention to the Parliament building and several points of interest along the way, describing to her the history of the Parliament and the building that housed it as they passed, knowing she would find it interesting. Finally, they arrived in a sprawling complex that took up several square blocks of the city, complete with gardens and rare trees that could grow in the cool climate of the dome.

"What is this place?" Chiara asked him, looking around in amazement.

"This is my home," Anisi said, appearing beside them as they passed through the gates. "What took you so long?" she asked him. "I've had it prepped for nearly an hour."

Chiara was too engrossed in examining the landscaping and the buildings to pay attention. "I didn't want to hurry and give it away," he told Anisi in an undertone. "I haven't told her yet."

"Told me what?" Chiara asked, turning around.

Thrawn let out a sharp breath. "Your hearing is far too keen for your own good. It's supposed to be a surprise. I suppose I should consider it an accomplishment that it took you this long to catch on."

"Catch on to what?" she asked him impatiently.

Ignoring Anisi's presence, Thrawn pulled Chiara to him for a brief moment and kissed her forehead. "Just wait and see." He turned back to Anisi. "Lead the way."

Anisi lead them through the winding path of the garden and into a medium-sized hangar bay built into the ice wall of the city. One of the ships, too large to be a fighter but too small to be a transport, idled near the exit. "There she is, the newest ship on the civilian market. I just got her last week, so don't scratch her on the ice," she warned him.

A look of understanding finally dawned on Chiara's face. Thrawn couldn't help smiling as he watched her. "We're going to the surface? I thought you said it was too dangerous."

"This ship was designed to withstand the extreme weather," Anisi told her. "She's the finest on the market. I hope Thrawn knows how to fly it."

"Of course. The controls have the same basic layout of a shuttle, minus the weapons capabilities," he assured her.

"I can't believe I'm letting you do this for a bunch of falling rocks. Go on, get out of here before I change my mind," Anisi told him, crossing her slender arms over her chest.

* * *

Thrawn guided them out of the launch tube and out over the frozen plains of his homeworld. They had lived on the surface, once, before the ice age came. When even the formerly tropical areas of the planet had frozen over, his ancestors had burrowed beneath the ice, using the planet's geothermal vents as a source of energy and of warmth. Now, very little still lived on the surface. There were a handful of predators species that had bee able to adapt, as well as a few plants and herbivorous species that lived on them.

"I didn't realize that Anisi was so wealthy," Chiara observed from the seat next to him, studying the control board of the small ship.

"She is directly related to the Third family," Thrawn told her. "Her father is a high-ranking figure in the Parliament."

"And yet she choose the military over a political career? It seems to me that it would be more logical for her to follow in her family's footsteps when she chose her career," Chiara asked.

Thrawn guided the ship over the rough terrain, looking for a good spot to land. He noted how smoothly the little craft responded and how easily it withstood the buffeting winds that were present even in the calmer weather. "Her parents weren't entirely pleased with her choice, but she's almost as headstrong as you can be and refused to be swayed. She's made a fine officer and done quite well for herself."

Chiara finally looked up from the controls. "Can I try flying for a bit?"

Thrawn hesitated. "You've never flown anything of Chiss make before, and if you so much as scratch this, Anisi will have our heads."

"The controls are laid out like pretty much every other shuttle or small ship I've ever flown. I can handle it," she insisted. Thrawn couldn't resist the sparkle in her blue eyes.

"Alright," he conceded, moving out of the pilot's chair. "But don't try anything reckless. And watch out for the wind, the sudden gusts can be strong enough to knock a ship this size into an outcropping of ice or even the ground."

He stood behind her as she slid into the seat and pointed out a few of the controls to her. She guided the ship along with utter confidence, her fingers moving across the controls with a deftness and surety that he couldn't help but admire.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Thrawn pulled up a map on the display and indicated a large glacier to her. "Here. Even if a small storm kicks up, we should be well above it and still be able to see the meteorite shower."

"Okay. Hang on, I'm going to try something." Before Thrawn could respond, she sent the ship rocketing towards the sky, spiraling through the air. He gripped the back of the seat to keep his feet as the inertial dampeners struggled to keep up with the roll. She leveled out after a moment, laughing. "This is a _very_ nice ship," she remarked.

Thrawn shook his head at her as he moved to the co-pilot seat next to her. "I said nothing reckless," he chastised her, not really meaning it. In truth, he was impressed with her flying skills and how quickly she had adapted to the unfamiliar craft.

The sun was just beginning to set as Thrawn took back the controls to set them down on the uneven surface of the glacier. The brilliant colors of the sunset bathed the plains below in a dazzling array of blue, red and orange, dying the snowdrifts in brilliant hues.

"It's so beautiful," Chiara murmured.

"Beautiful and deadly," Thrawn agreed. "The temperatures drop drastically once the sun goes down. Even with an environmental suit, it gets downright uncomfortable at night." He keyed the ship into standby mode and stood, making his way to the compact galley. "Now, if I know Anisi... Ah, here we are." He plucked a bottle of _htisah ch'atvuwut_ from the cooler and collected two glasses from the overhead compartment. Further investigation yielded a pack of _nahn'barv'av, _a spongy cake filled with the delicate _nahn'bar_. He served two pieces onto plates that he found and poured them each a glass of the _htisah ch'atvuwut_, balancing them carefully as he returned to the cockpit.

"What's this?" Chiara asked as he handed her a plate and glass.

"Just a light snack, courtesy of Anisi," he told her. He sat down next to her and took a sip of the _htisah ch'atvuwut_, savoring the bold spiciness of the drink.

Chiara tried some and coughed. "Wow, that's strong. Just how much alcohol is in that?"

Thrawn chuckled. "It is one of the stronger drinks that we have."

She took a more cautious sip. "It's actually not too bad, it just caught me a little off guard. I was beginning to think you Chiss were above alcoholic drinks," she teased.

"I should hope not," he returned, taking a bite of the _nahn'barv'av_. "The meteorite shower should start soon."

It was nearing 0100 when Thrawn finally brought the ship down to land in the hangar again, but Anisi was waiting for them, despite the hour, by the time they came down the boarding ramp.

"It looks like you managed to avoid damaging her," Anisi commented, running an appraising eye over her ship.

"Not a scratch," Thrawn promised. "Though, you may need to replenish stock of _nahn'barv'av." _

"I should have known; you've always had a weakness for that. I suppose you also broke into my supply of _htisah ch'atvuwut_?"

"But of course," Thrawn answered.

Anisi shook her head ruefully. "Well, if you are done pillaging my galley, would you like to stay the night? It's rather late to be going home at this hour. I've had the guest suite prepared for you."

Thrawn glanced at Chiara, who nodded. "Thank you, Anisi, we accept your offer of hospitality," Thrawn said, truly touched. Inviting Chiara to stay under her roof was a sign that she had truly accepted her, he knew. He smiled at her gratefully. Chiara echoed his thanks.

"It's this way," Anisi said, leading them back to the expansive house. The halls were empty as they made their way through them, most likely due to the lateness of the hour. Finally, Anisi paused outside an ornately carved set of double doors and pushed one open. "Well, here we are. Some of us have to report for duty in the morning, so I will see you later."

Thrawn paused just before he went through the door and turned back to her. "Anisi?" he called after her. She stopped and turned around to look at him. "Thank you." She nodded primly and continued on her way.

Thrawn found Chiara standing in the middle of the room with an amazed look on her face as he eased the door shut behind himself. The room was nearly the size of their bedroom and living room combined. The bed was covered in the finest of linens and the couch and other furnishing were all of the highest quality.

"You look like you've never seen a good guest suite before," he said, moving to stand behind her with his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder and warmed her ear with a kiss.

"I've seen them once or twice, but never stayed in them," she told him. "Who could possibly need so much space?"

Thrawn's lip twitched. "I believe this suite is normally reserved for the use of a visiting Aristocra. You would be surprised at just how much space they need."

"I see," she said, still looking around. Finally, she turned around in his arms so she could look at him. "I had a really great time tonight, Thrawn. Thank you." Her firm lips met his and Thrawn could still taste the spices of the _htisah ch'atvuwut _on her breath as he tangled one hand through her long, dark tresses.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he murmured as his lips skimmed her neck, tugging her gently towards the bed.


	8. Chapter 7

AN: Thank you for the reviews, meline 387. I was just saying to one of my betas what a cute couple the are! As amusing as drunk Thrawn would be, I'm not sure he would ever let himself get drunk, he seems too controlled, to me. Perhaps in the next story, though, I think it would fit a bit more.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Light was filtering through the window when Thrawn woke the next morning, bathing the bed with a gentle glow. He looked down to where Chiara was curled up against his shoulder, her hair tousled with sleep. Not wanting to wake her, he lay still and watched her slumber on, oblivious to his gaze. The contrast of her pale skin against his blue was still a bit shocking to him, sometimes. _To think that it was pure chance that brought her into my life_, he mused. If she hadn't chosen to try that prototype fighter, she would still be back in the Galactic Republic and he would have never met her. _I suppose, in a way, her recklessness is what is responsible for bringing us together. _He knew that there were a lot of Chiss women who would have been a better match for him in the eyes of his fellow Chiss, but he couldn't imagine himself with any of them. The others might see her differences as negative, but Thrawn found himself irresistibly drawn to her artlessness, fiery spirit and lack of concern for politics and the power games that the Ruling Families played. He had noticed that her normal fire was a bit subdued as of late, though, and it concerned him. When they were with his friends or even when she was around him, she was consciously or subconsciously tried to hold up her normal attitude, but he could see it in the quiet moments when she thought no one was looking. He suspected it was the stress of adjusting to a new culture that, for the most part, was proving unwilling to accept her. It was his hope that last night would help to restore her spirits, at least a little.

_The trip to Crustai will be good for her. At least the crew has come to respect and accept her, and I don't have to be concerned about being reprimanded for having her around. _He knew that letting her accompany him to the base and take a more active role in planning the new base couldn't possibly end well, so he had never even tried it. As much as the treatment he had received from a few officers and the one admiral bothered him, it disturbed him even more to see the downright rudeness and ostracism that she had to deal with. There was the shopkeeper that had tried to turn her away on their first day on Csilla and the way that Thrass had treated her, initially... He was glad that Thrass had come around. He was still clearly uncomfortable with Chiara, but at least he was treating her with some degree of respect. As for his friends, Thrawn knew he could never repay them for the way they had instantly accepted her without any hesitation.

Chiara stirred, breaking through his train of thought. He looked back down to see her gazing up at him, a contented smile lighting up her delicate features. "Good morning," he told her, putting his arms around her and placing a kiss on her smooth brow. Instead of responding, she put her arms around him and snuggled closer. He stroked her tangled hair, carefully working some of the knots out.

She sighed after a moment and looked up at him, faint tension lines appearing under her smile. "What time do you need to be at the base?"

"I'm not going to the base, today," he told her, making up his mind. "I can check for new reports when we stop for lunch."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up and the lines smoothing away.

"Yes, really," he told her, smiling. Yes, she needed a day of his undivided attention. "What shall we do, today?"

She yawned and snuggled a bit closer. "Right now, what I want to do is stay right here."

"As you wish," he murmured with a smile.

* * *

When they finally got out of bed some time later, they found that Anisi had thoughtfully left a fresh uniform for Thrawn and a set of her civilian clothes for Chiara. Anisi's civilian wear was all exquisitely made, and this outfit was no exception. It was made of a deep blue material that hung perfectly on Chiara's shapely frame and accented her eyes. A long slit down each sleeve left her sculpted shoulders peeking out, pale white against the blue fabric. Thrawn paused in his attempt to fasten his rank bars to his collar and eyed her appreciatively as she emerged from the 'fresher, her hair falling softly down her back in gentle curls. She came over and plucked the rank bars deftly from his fingers and attached them to his collar.

"You know, that would be easier if you put them on your uniform _before_ you put the uniform on. Or do you just like doing things the hard way?" she teased, brushing a piece of lint from the shoulder of his uniform.

"Maybe I prefer to have you do it for me," he answered in the same tone and cocked one eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes in response and shook her head. "So, what is there to do in this area of the city?" she asked, changing the subject.

Thrawn considered. "There is an exquisite marketplace not far from here that caters to the upper-class and mostly carries high-end goods. You might enjoy it. There's also a small art museum."

"I know which one you want to do without asking," she said.

"Actually, I've been to the museum many times before. Either would be equally agreeable to me."

Chiara regarded him for a moment, considering. "Maybe we can just go to the market for a bit and then stop in to the museum."

"If you like," he told her.

* * *

As they wandered through the marketplace, Thrawn carefully stayed by Chiara's side, hoping his presence would deter another incident like the one they'd had on their first day back. Perhaps it was because the shopkeepers here served a higher-class and were, therefore, held to higher standards, but every one of them showed impeccable courtesy to both Thrawn and Chiara, even if they were momentarily taken aback when an outsider wandered into their shop. Thrawn made a mental note to bring Chiara here in the future, even though it was a considerable distance from their house. It would be worth it, if she didn't have to endure the the scowls and petty attitudes of speciest shopkeepers.

It took considerable effort to convince her to allow him to pick out a necklace for her in the shop that carried such trifles and an engraved silver hair clasp in another. He tried to choose a new outfit for her, but she flatly refused, saying she had too many clothes already. Thrawn gave in and let her pull him from the shops and back onto the streets.

"If you want to see the art museum, we're going the wrong way," he told her.

"I'd rather just go home," she said sullenly, staring at the pavement.

Thrawn frowned at her tone. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, continuing on. He caught her wrist and planted his feet firmly, forcing her to stop. She tugged halfheartedly against his grip, her eyes still fixed on the ground.

"If I am not allowed to hide my feelings from you then it is only fair that you be equally open with me," he told her. Thrawn gently tilted her chin up with one hand until she was looking at him. He was startled to see that her normally clear blue eyes were clouded with tears. Glancing around, he saw a copse of shrubbery nearby that would give them some privacy and quickly lead her into it. They sat down on the small bench concealed in the greenery. "Why are you upset?"

Abruptly, the tears overflowed and Chiara's hands flew to her neck, her fingers fumbling at the clasp of the necklace. "This isn't me, Thrawn. I'm not just some doll you can dress up and put on a shelf to look pretty and take down when you feel like it to play with. I'm not your trophy wife, so please stop treating me like it," she burst out.

Perplexed, Thrawn caught her hands and gently pulled them away so he could unclasp the necklace. She tore the small clip from her hair and threw it back towards the street. Thrawn choked back his anger at the way she so casually discarded what he had painstakingly chosen for her. _She doesn't mean any slight towards me by it_, he told himself, _she is under a great deal of stress and is upset_. He took a calming breath as he slipped the necklace into his pocket. "Chiara, I don't understand-" he started as he tried to brush the tears from her cheeks, but she slapped his hand away.

"You keep giving me things like I'm some poor vagabond that you picked up off the streets, like I need stuff to make me complete. I don't need an entire wardrobe full of fancy outfits. I don't need jewelry and decorations. All I need is you." Her voice broke a bit on the final word.

Thrawn resisted the urge to point out that six outfits hardly constituted an entire wardrobe and that nothing she had was anything extraordinary, trying to consider the situation from her perspective. Before coming here, she had never owned more than two sets of clothes and her lightsaber. He had more than doubled the size of her wardrobe, given her a home, complete with all the furnishings and creature comforts they could want, and given her several other small gifts along the way. Now that he thought about it, it was probably overwhelming to her, especially when he considered that she had never even been given a present, before. And this was on top of her having to adjust to no longer being part of the Jedi Order and being in a relationship for the first time. He wondered why he hadn't seen it, before. Suddenly, her resistance to what he had considered an innocuous selection of a simple necklace and hair clip made sense. At least the other things he had given her had some practical purpose, but these were entirely trivial, and triviality seemed to be a thing that the Jedi shunned.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. "I never meant to make you feel like I consider you inadequate because of your lack of material things. It must be very foreign and overwhelming to you to suddenly have so much: Almost three hundred years of habit can't be easy to overcome. And I certainly didn't intend for you to feel like I was putting you on a shelf. I am not accustomed to having someone else with whom to share the everyday with. Clearly, I need to devote more attention to this. Can you forgive me for failing you in these things?"

Another tear made its way down her cheek, leaving a trail of moisture behind. "Yes," she whispered.

"What do I need to do differently?" he asked, taking her hand in his. "How can I make you feel like you are an integral part of my life, as you rightly should be?"

She sniffled and seemed to consider. "I miss how you used to let me just be with you while you worked and read the reports, sometimes. I have nothing really to do, sitting in your- _our_ house all day. Even though I see you at lunch, that hardly fills my day. I know you have responsibilities and work to do, but I wish there was something I could do to be part of it."

Thrawn regarded her thoughtfully. Yes, taking her to Crustai on the _Springhawk _would do her a great deal of good. "Perhaps I can start doing some of my work from home," he suggested. "I wish that I could have you with me at the base for more than just lunch, but I'm concerned the other officers and some of the admirals would be rather less than pleasant to you. I am not sure I could stand by and watch them mistreat you, but if I tried to intervene I could be brought up on charges of insubordination and disrespecting a command officer. Things will be different once we reach Crustai. I won't have anyone looking over my shoulder and telling me that I cannot allow you to assist me with the responsibilities of command."

"I don't want you to do anything that would get you into trouble. Maybe I just need to find a hobby or start exploring the city more. I feel so exposed, going out without you, though. Even when people are polite to me, I can feel their hostility towards me. It's suffocating, sometimes."

"It is better when you are with me, then?" he asked, trying once more to wipe the tears from her cheeks. This time, she accepted his touch.

"Yes, somewhat. Or maybe just having you there helps me ignore it."

"And you can't just block it out?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"No. Even if I'm not actively trying to sense things around me, it's always there in the back of my head."

"I see." In truth, he couldn't imagine what that would be like. Whenever he was studying a new piece of art, he had to have perfect silence in order to concentrate and fully delve into the depths of the alien psyche that had created the piece. To always have the emotions of others playing in the background of her mind... It was a wonder it didn't drive her mad. Shaking off the thought, he made a mental note to take her out more often. He had been hesitant to expose her to the xenophobic attitudes that plagued his culture, but clearly that wasn't what she truly wanted. "May I ask you for something?" She bobbed her head. "Next time when something is bothering you, don't wait until it becomes such an issue between us before you tell me."

"I didn't fully realize just how much it was bothering me until now, but I'll try," she promised.

"And here I thought you were just missing your life as a Jedi and having trouble adjusting to Chiss culture," he mused.

"I don't miss my life as a Jedi," she told him. "Well, not that much. I have my moments, but I really am happy here with you."

"Good. I don't want you to be unhappy," he said, stroking her cheek. He glanced back towards the main thoroughfare. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," she said, getting to her feet and leading him by the hand back out onto the street. He paused to pick up the hair clip she had thrown aside as they passed the spot where it had fallen.

"Does this mean I am not allowed to give you gifts?" he asked her, pocketing the clasp. "Or just not as often?"

She hesitated. "It would hardly be fair for me to to say you can't give me anything at all when I know you like doing it. Maybe just not quite so often. And don't be hurt if I don't open it right away."

"Agreed," he said, glad that she was willing to compromise. "One more question. What is a 'trophy wife'?"


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Over the next few days, Thrawn made a point of asking Chiara's opinion on some of the reports he had previously received on Crustai. He did as much of his work as he could from their study and while she curled up in the large, comfortable chair in one corner of the room and read. He tried to teach her how to cook so she would have something else she could do if she was ever getting bored, but he quickly abandoned that attempt when she misinterpreted the directions in a recipe and nearly set the kitchen on fire. Despite a few missteps along the way, she seemed much happier and the brief glimpses he had been getting of something lurking under the surface had all but vanished. She had even seemed downright enthusiastic when Thrass stopped by and proposed the idea of hosting a party to celebrate Thrawn's promotion and first assignment as Force Commander. Thrawn had agreed, mostly to avoid offending his brother and disappointing Chiara.

With the _Springhawk_ finished with her maintenance, Thrawn began planning their excursion to inspect the Crustai system. It would take them eight days in each direction to travel to and from the distant system. Keeping that and the date that Thrass had selected for the gala, Thrawn scheduled their departure for the following week.

When Thrawn announced their imminent trip at lunch, Anisi pursed her lips. "Well, I suppose we could hardly expect you to stay around for too long. If we are going to have our competition, we will have to do it until tomorrow. If we wait until you come back, one of us could easily have been dispatched on a new assignment by then."

"I hope not," Thrawn told them. "Thrass is insisting on throwing a celebration for my promotion and new command. I'd like for you all to be there."

"You know we will be, if at all possible," Daithi said. "And you should celebrate. You're by far the youngest Force Commander the CEDF has ever known. You don't give yourself enough credit, sometimes."

Thrawn shrugged. "Is everyone free, tomorrow?"

Everyone nodded. Beside him, Chiara stirred. "What kind of competition is this?" she asked.

"It's a sparring match to test hand-to-hand combat readiness," Shixan told her.

"Except it can hardly be called a sparring match when we don't hold back," Fisix pointed out. "I had bruises for weeks after the last one."

"You should learn to defend yourself better," Thimas told him.

Fisix sniffed. "I'm a fighter pilot. I don't do hand-to-hand in real battles."

"It's a tradition that started while we were at Academy," Thrawn explained. "Anisi and I were almost always at the top of our hand-to-hand classes, but since we were in different classes, we never got to go up against each other to see which of us was better. I challenged her to a match to settle the question, at one point, and Daithi wanted to join in as well. It grew from there and became a sort of tradition amongst us. We are seldom all together, anymore, so we try to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself."

Chiara's eyes sparkled. "Can I join in?"

"Surely a sweet thing like you wouldn't bee interested in something like that!" Fisix exclaimed in mock horror. "I would have to see one of us accidentally break that pretty face of yours."

"I would be more concerned about her breaking one of you," Thrawn growled at him in a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "Does anyone object to Chiara participating?"

"I don't see why anyone should," Anisi sniffed daintily. "Let's meet at 1000, tomorrow."

* * *

They gathered in the training facility the next morning in an unoccupied hand-to-hand training room. Anisi had drawn up the order in which they would go and assigned opponents based on how they had finished the previous competition. As the newcomer, Chiara would have to start at the bottom and work her way up through the ranks. She didn't anticipate any difficulty from her first match, which would be against Fisix.

Predictably, Fisix showed up late and bleary eyed, dressed in an orange jumpsuit that such a hideously bright shade that it made Chiara's eyes hurt to look at it. "Oww, Fisix!" she complained as they walked onto the mat, "I can't even look at you in that."

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Ah, but that's the point! You can't hit me if you can't see me because your eyes are watering."

"That's a dirty trick, even for you, Fisix," Thimas told him. "And on her first try, too!"

"A Jedi needs not their eyes to see," she told him, quoting Master Yoda. The wizened Jedi Master had been ancient even when she had been an Iniate at the Temple and she had tucked away many nuggets of wisdom from him, over the years. These days, he was the only one in the order who was older than her. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the Force, letting it flow through her and guide her. Fisix moved to circle around behind her and she matched him easily.

"You're peeking!" Fisix accused after a few unsuccessful attempts.

"I am not," Chiara said tartly, slipping to one side as he advanced on her again.

"Yes, you are," he insisted.

"Fine," Chiara said, beckoning to Thrawn. He tore a strip from the hem of hi stunic and stepped onto the mat behind her, tieing it over her eyes as a blindfold.

"Thrawn, what are you doing?" Shixan exclaimed. "Even Fisix will beat her like that."

Thrawn sat back down on the sidelines. "I would be so sure of that," he said evenly.

Chiara waited without flinching while Fisix capered around her in a typical display, waving his hands in front of her face and make several feints towards her to guage her reaction. She waited until he committed himself to a serious move against and sprang into action. She somersaulted high over his head as he made a grab for her wrist and landed behind him. Whirling, she pinned his arms behind him and slowly exerted enough force to drive him to the ground.

"Call it, Anisi," Thrawn prompted as Fisix squirmed uncomfortably beneath the foot Chiara had planted in his back.

"Match to Chiara," Anisi said, finding her voice again. "Fisix is eliminated."

"That wasn't fair!" Fisix protested with a wounded expression as Chiara let him up.

"Fair?" Thimas quipped. "She was blind folded! What else do you want her to do, tie one hand behind her back?"

Fisix brightened visibly at the suggestion. "Now that you mention it..."

Chiara walked over to sit down next to Thrawn, allowing him to untie the impromptu blindfold. "I am certain she could beat you with _both_ hands tied behind her back, Fisix," Thrawn told him.

Shixan and Thimas were next. Thimas had a slight tendency to overbalance himself, a fact that Shixan clearly knew. It took her less than five minutes to take him down and secure her own victory. Chiara watched the match carefully, knowing she would face off against the victor next. She noted that Shixan's footwork tended to get a little sloppy as she tired and that she relied on her height to help her overpower her opponent.

"Alright, Chiara," Daithi said, "Let's see if Shixan can give you a little more competition than Fisix."

"Try not to tire yourself out too much," Thrawn teased her. "You have two more to go after this one before you face Anisi, and one of those will probably be me."

"And clearly I need to worry about that, if the last time we sparred was any indication," Chiara shot back. She reached out to the Force again and joined Shixan on the mat, holding her hands in a loose guard position while she waited for Shixan to make the first move.

Shixan came in with the classic _Ch'etecici'ahn Ch'ast_ form that Chiara had watched the warriors practicing on that day that now seemed so long ago. She launched a rain of blows that would have left most defenders staggering, but her hands met only empty air. Chiara came out of her sideways roll and hooked one foot around Shixan's ankle, making her stumble and nearly fall. Chiara leaped to her feet and waded in, keeping Shixan off-balance with a flurry of blows. To Chiara surprise, instead of trying to defend herself, Shixan accepted the punches and lashed out with a brutal right-hook that caught her in the ribs and drove the air out of her lungs. She threw herself backwards into a flip, trying to gain enough space to catch her breath. Shixan moved with her, pressing her advantage.

Trying to fend off her follow-up blows while gasping for breath and seeing that Shixan was not about to give her any space, Chiara changed tactics. Ignoring thee burning of her lungs, she gathered herself and leaped up and over Shixan. She used the surprised Chiss's shoulders as a pivot point, locking her hands under her armpits and using her momentum to jerk Shixan backwards. Using her leverage, Chiar flipped the Chiss woman over and slammed her to the ground. Shixan rolled over and tried to get to her feet, but the force of the impact left her too dazed to make it any further than a few inches off the mat.

"Match to Chiara," Anisi said softly. "Shixan is eliminated."

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone take Shixan down so quickly," Thimas commented he went to help her up. "I do believe Anisi will have her work cut out for her if she wants to defend her title as Champion."

"Alright, Thrawn, we're up," Daithi told him. They moved out onto the mat and circled each other, neither seeming willing to make th first move. When Daithi finally launched an attack, he did so with a speed that was almost blinding. Thrawn blocked with skill and quickly took the offensive, driving Daithi back a few paces.

As the match waged back and forth, it quickly becamse apparent to Chiara that Thrawn and Daithi were very evenly matched. On one hand, she hoped that Thrawn won for his own sake, but on the other, part of her privately hoped Daithi would beat him so she wouldn't run the risk of embarrassing him in front of his friends. She winced as Daithi knocked Thrawn's feet out from under him. He went down hard and put one hand out to break his fall, swiveling on one hip to try and kick Daithi's feet out from under him as he landed heavily. Daithi was too quick for the trick, but it bought Thrawn a split second to get to his knees before Daithi was on him again. Thrawn fended off the blows that Daithi rained on him from above with one arm and took advantage of his position to get one fist under Daithi's guard. Chiara heard the breath go out of him in a _whoosh_ as Thrawn connected just below his ribcage. Instead of getting to his feet immediately, Thrawn followed up with a wicked left-hook that left Daihi reeling. He got to his feet and continued to press Daithi backwards, though Chiara noted with some concern that he seemed to be favoring the wrist he had fallen on.

Daithi looked surprised when he reached the edge of the mat and tried to escape by slipped around Thrawn, but Thrawn blocked him easily. When Daithi tried to hold back his ground and take back the offensive, Thrawn responded with a well-aimed kick to his midsection that sent him sprawling backwards off the mat.

"Match to Thrawn," Anisi said mildly. "Daithi is eliminated."

Thrawn offered Daithi his hand up. Daithi accepted and clapped Thrawn on the shoulder once he was back on his feet. "Well done. I will get you next time, though," he warned.

"I seem to remember you saying that last time," Thrawn pointed out with a smile.

"Well, this will be interesting," Fisix quipped. "Now we get to see Thrawn and Chiara against each other. I hope they don't fight like _ ch'itvosihe'oti_ just because they're lovers."

Thrawn shot him an irritated look as he rubbed his wrist. "Of course not. She hardly needs any help from me to beat me soundly."

"You never know," Chiara said, going over to examine his wrist. "You might get lucky."

"He's lucky enough as it is. After all, he gets to wake up next your sweet face ever day," Fisix said, moving to join them. Thrawn seized Fisix's arm with his free hand as he tried to drape it casually around Chiara's shoulders.

Chiara bent closer to Thrawn's wrist to hide a blush. "It's just a sprain," she told him, focusing a tendril of Force energy on the injury to dull the pain.

Thrawn's sigh of relief was barely audible. "Thank you," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had worked its way loose from her braid. His fingers brushed the pointed tip of her ear and lingered for just a second. "Don't hold back."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"There is no shame in losing to someone as brilliant as you. Don't diminish who you are and what you are capable of because you are afraid of overshadowing me. Ever," he told her.

"All right, you two lovebirds, get going!" Fisix said, rolling his eyes and giving them a push towards the mat.

Chiara stretched the knots out of her muscles and relaxed into the Force as they stepped onto the mat. They circled each other for a moment, each waiting to see what the other would do. When Thrawn seemed hesitant to make the first move, Chiara waded in with series of lightning fast strikes. Thrawn blocked most of them, but a few got through and hit home. He grunted and caught her wrist as she landed a blow to his ribs, spinning her around and pinning the arm behind her back. Ignoring the way her muscles screamed in protest as he tried to force her to the ground, she threw herself backwards into his chest, knocking him off balance. She took advantage of the brief moment where the tension on her arm loosened and jumped over Thrawn's head. He suddenly found himself in the same position he had just had her in, one armed pinned behind his back. His few extra centimeters of height prevented her from being able to use the grip to push him towards the ground. He hooked one leg around her ankle and and pulled it out from under her in an attempt to unbalance her, but she just transferred her weight to her other foot. He took advantage of her weakened position to push sideways. Chiara lost her grip on his arm and he spun around to face her again, raining down blows on her before she could recover her balance. Chiara matched his movements perfectly, blocking every one of his punches.

Abruptly, she sidestepped to the left, letting his next blow fall on empty air. Taking advantage of his momentary imbalance that resulted, she move in from the side, locking her arms around his waist and using the Force to enhance her strength as she kicked his feet out from under him and took him to the ground. To her mild surprise, he threw his arms around her as she did so, pulling her down with him. Knowing that if Thrawn managed to pin her to the ground with his full weight that she could never get free in time to avoid forfeiting the match, Chiara made sure she landed on top of Thrawn. It didn't matter, though, he rolled them over and tried to use just the weight of his chest to pin her down. She brought on leg up to knee him in the ribs, knocking the air out of him. She squirmed out from under him as he collapsed, gasping for breath, and threw one leg over his back. She stradled him just behind the shoulders and pinned his wrists to the mat with her hands.

"Match to Chiara," Anisi said after a moment when Thrawn couldn't throw her off. "Thrawn is eliminated."

Chiara let go of Thrawn's wrists and moved so she was sitting next to him instead of on top of him. He rolled over after a moment, still breathing hard. "Well done," he managed.

"You, too. You almost got me for a minute, there," she told him. She got to her feet and offered him her hand.

"And now for the final match!" Fisix said dramatically.

"Let her sit down for a few minutes, Fisix," Anisi told him. "She's already had four matches."

"Thank you, Anisi, but I'm fine," Chiara assured her.

Anisi raised one shapely eyebrow at her. "It's your funeral." She got up and crossed to the mat, taking up a position across from Chiara. Chiara circled her warily, knowing that she had to be exceptionally good to be able to beat Thrawn consistently. When Anisi made her move, Chiara saw why: she was incredibly fast and agile. One moment, she was standing flat-footed in the center of the mat and the next, she was on Chiara, attacking from every angle. Unable to keep up, Chiara let go to the Force, letting it take over her actions entirely.

Time stretched and seemed to slow down as she immersed herself fully in the Force. Her brain ceased to think and simply responded to the prompting of the Force. Anisi's blows were no longer unexpected blurs of motion, but whispers of warning that her body responded to before they had even begun. A corner of her brain registered Anisi's look of disbelief as Chiara seemed to anticipate her every move. As she saw the next right-hook coming before it happened, Chiara reached out and stopped Anisi's fist with one hand. She wrapped her other hand around Anisi's wrist and twisted, trying to force her to the ground. Anisi lashed out with one leg, trying to sweep Chiara's feet from under, but Chiara leaped over the threat easily. Anisi used her free hand in a stiff chop to the inside of Chiara's elbow, striking a nerve and making her fingers loosen temporarily. She wrenched her wrist free and followed up with a kick, but Chiara was already in motion, somersaulting backwards and out of reach.

They closed with each other again and Chiara launched a blinding offensive assault that drove Anisi several paces back. Chiara let herself become too intent on pushing Anisi towards the edge of the mat and responded a split-second too late when Anisi lashed out with a kick that connected solidly with her midsection and lifted her off the ground. Anisi launched herself at Chiara, tackling her to the ground while she was off-balance. Chiara's attempt at pushing her away just made things worse - Anisi landed awkwardly on top of her and one elbow dug painfully into Chiara's nose. She felt blood start to dribble out of one nostril as she used the Force to push Anisi off her, but Anisi fastened her arms around Chiara's neck, holding herself in place. Chiara hit her in the ribs, trying to make her loosen her grip, but Anisi just grunted and held on. Chiara tried to roll to the side to get better leverage, but Anisi had gotten one knee on either side of her torso, holding her where she was. Gritting her teeth, Chiara kicked downwards with her legs and used the Force to augment the move, sending her legs in an arc over her head that took Anisi with her. The move ended with her laying on her stomach, Anisi pinned beneath her.

Anisi blinked once in shock at the sudden reversal of their positions and then released her hold on Chiara's neck. Chiara caught her fist as she tried to land a blow to Chiara's ribs, but she wasn't quite quick enough to catch the second one. She winced as the blow connected in the same place where she had previously been hit that day. Anisi followed up by kneeing her in the back, then tried to wrap her legs around Chiara's neck. Chiara threw her weight forward and leaned closer over Anisi to avoid the move, pinning both of her wrists to the ground. A drop of blood spattered into Anisi's face before Thrawn finally called the match.

"Match to Chiara," he said, a distinct note of pride in his voice. "Chiara is our new champion."

Chiara rolled off Anisi and lay beside her, breathing hard and aching all over. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try and stop the bleeding. "Well done," Anisi gasped beside her.

"You, too," Chiara got out.

She lay there until Thrawn came over and offered her his hand up. He used the sleeve of his tunic to wipe the blood from her face and then kissed her forehead. "That was most impressive," he told her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine, it's not even broken. A hot shower sounds amazing right now, though."

Thrawn smiled at her. "I was just thinking the same thing." He turned to Anisi and helped her up, too. "I'm going to take our new champion home to get her cleaned up. We'll meet you all in the mess hall for lunch," he told her.

"Oh, I'm sure you're going to do more than just help her clean up," Fisix quipped, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

For once, Thrawn didn't even object to his comment.


	10. Chapter 9

AN: When Thrawn says "15 year old," keep in mind that Chiss years are different than Galactic Standard! This would be roughly equivalent to a 20 year old in Galactic Standard years.

**Chapter 9**

Chiara stood on the bridge behind Thrawn's command chair as the _Springhawk _dropped out of hyperspace and the starlines coalesced into individual stars. A single planet hung in the bridge viewport, swirled with brilliant colors of blue and green and the mottled white of clouds. From the reports, Chiara knew there were other planets in the system, as well, but they must have been concealed behind the bright yellow sun that burned at the center of the system.

"So this is Crustai," she murmured.

"Indeed. Helm, take us in to the observation team's camp site," Thrawn ordered.

It didn't take them long to land, putting down beside the two scientific vessels that had been on this planet for some months, now. Chiara descended the ramp with Thrawn as he went out to meet the leader of the survey team. She could feel the planet teeming with life through the Force as she walked through the camp at Thrawn's side. He opened the door to one of the temporary structures and gestured her inside.

A middle-aged Chiss male who sat at a cramped desk glanced up as they entered and quickly scrambled to his feet. "Commander, welcome to Crustai. I didn't realize you were here already or I would have arranged a more proper greeting. You weren't scheduled to arrive for a few more hours."

"No need to apologize, we were running a little ahead of schedule. May I present Jedi Master Chiara Matao," he said, gesturing to her. "Chiara, this is Brast'ankl'ithin, leader of the survey team."

Brast'ankl'ithin regarded her for a moment. "I've heard quite a bit about you, Jedi Master Chiara Matao. Welcome to Crustai."

"Thank you, Brast'ankl'ithin," she told him. "I'm looking forward to seeing this new world. Your reports look quite promising."

If Bast'ankl'ithin was surprised by the fact that she had been reading classified material, he didn't let on. "Please, sir, allow me to show you our camp," he said.

They spent several days on the planet, gaining some familiarity with the local terrain and the maps. Thrawn was glad to see that Chiara dove right in and started volunteering to help the survey team with tasks that would have been difficult or downright impossible without her. It made him rather uncomfortable when she volunteered to scale a relatively sheer cliff face to investigate a cave and rig some rappelling lines, but the survey team seemed to truly appreciate her assistance. In some ways, Thrawn felt that low-born commoners did a better job of accepting her than the upper-crust descendants of the Ruling Families or even the Merit Adoptives and Trial Born did. Thankfully, Brast'ankl'ithin, the only member of one of the Families present on the survey team, didn't seem to mind her presence, either.

Thrawn spent his time poring over maps, trying to find a suitable place for his base. He didn't want to construct it out in the open as Commander Inat'in'scalin had with his base - it left them far too open to enemy attack, as he had learned the hard way. He was considering the practicality of trying to find somewhere concealed in the mountains to build it, but the density of the rock that made up the tall, grey peaks was such that this didn't seem a plausible option.

* * *

On their third day on the planet, Thrawn made plans to take Chiara out to a particularly nice beautiful and secluded place that Brast'ankl'ithin had told him about. She seemed much happier here and every trace of underlying tension or sadness had vanished entirely. He knew that she enjoyed being able to contribute both to the survey team and to his efforts at planning his first command. _She will never be one to sit around and watch others work_, he thought to himself. _She needs to be doing something_.

After the evening meal, which consisted of an interesting variety of local vegetables and game, Thrawn quietly took Chiara's hand and lead her into the forest instead of back to the _Springhawk._

"Where are we going?" she asked as the camp vanished behind them, swallowed up by the tall trees.

"I thought we might spend an evening under the stars before we go back to Csilla," he told her. "I know you always miss them, and I've been told there is a very comfortable meadow not far from here."

Her sapphire eyes sparkled. "That sounds wonderful. I know you probably think I'm a bit odd for enjoying the stars, but when you grow up on Coruscant..."

"I don't think it odd, at all. I enjoy watching them as much as anyone else, but I seldom took the time before I met you. How does growing up on Coruscant affect your enjoyment of them?" he asked.

"The entire world is one giant city. No one even knows how far down the surface is, anymore, they just keep building more on top of the old structures. There are so many lights and ships coming and going all the time... I suppose it has a beauty of its own, but I prefer the stars." She frowned a bit. "I think I must have grown up on a more traditional planet, before, well, whatever it was that lead me to Ka'asar."

"I don't think you've ever told me the story of how you were found and how you came to be part of the Jedi Order."

He caught just a trace of bitterness in her laugh. "There's not much to tell, really. I was found wandering around the estate of the Senator of Ka'asar. At first, when they couldn't find my parents, they were just going to send me off to some orphanage in the mountains. He was in the middle of running for re-election, though, and was in the middle of some scandal over conservation efforts and the factory that one of the corporations wanted to build. One of his political advisers suggested that he adopt me to help distract from the negative press he was getting."

Thrawn frowned. "So it was purely a political ploy?"

"Yes. There are still plenty of pictures out there of us. They would put me in fancy outfits and brush my hair and tell me to pose with him and pretend I liked him, but I hardly knew him. Once the election was over, I don't think he ever even looked at me again. It seemed like he was relieved when one of his aides told him I was exhibiting signs of being Force sensitive and recommended having me tested. When the Jedi came and ran their tests, he seemed all to happy to send me off to the Temple and get rid of me." Thrawn could hear a subtle note of old pain in her voice.

"And what did you think of being sent to the Jedi?"

"Honestly, I think it was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me. I didn't have any strong attachment to Ka'asar and I was just excited to have other children to play with and not be hushed all the time."

Thrawn shook his head. "The Ruling Families can be cold and calculating, but I can't even see any of them using a child for nothing more than political gain and then throwing them away. Especially one like you, you had to show signs of being exceptional even when you were so young. I'm sorry you had to experience that."

She smiled at him, her troubled expression clearing. "It was a long time ago. Long ago enough, in fact, that you weren't even born."

Thrawn raised an eyebrow at her. "I still forget how much older you are than I am. And yet you still look and act like a reckless 15 year old." His locator beeped in his hand. "Ah, we're nearly there. It should be just around this boulder."

They rounded the corner and suddenly found themselves in a lush meadow full of long grass that was studded with flowers. A small waterfall thundered gently at the other end of the open space. The trees that surrounded the small clearing were blooming with exquisite blue flowers and gave off a sweet scent. "This is... incredible!" Chiara told him, taking his hand. "How did you ever find out about this place?"

He smiled at her. "I have my ways." He lead her over to a relatively flat section of ground and they sat down together. She leaned back against his chest as she gazed around and sighed in contentment.

"I wouldn't complain about the way my adoptive father treated too much," she told him after a moment, turning her head so her lips could reach his jawline. "If he hadn't sent me off to the Temple, I wouldn't have become a Jedi and I probably would have never met you."

"There is that," he conceded. He ran his fingers through the grass and plucked one of the flowers that dotted the meadow. The deep blue shade of the blossom reminded him of Chiara's eyes. He twirled it between thumb and forefinger for a moment before tucking it behind her ear. She smiled at him.

"You're not allowed to build the base anywhere near here," she told him.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want anyone else finding this place," she explained, reaching one hand up to stroke his cheek.

"Too late, the survey team already knows about it," he told her with a chuckle.

"Okay, but we're not telling anyone else," she said with a smile.

They passed the evening together in quiet conversation and watched as the sunset painted the distant mountain peaks in brilliant shades of blue, red and purple. As the stars came out, they lay back in the grass together and watched, neither speaking. Thrawn almost felt unwilling to go back to the camp, wishing that they could stay here, away from the demands, expectations and prejudices of his people. When Chiara started to drowse against his shoulder he looked down at her peaceful face and her eyelids drooping half-closed. He stroked her cheek with one hand and kissed her forehead.

"We should probably head back," he told her.

"Do we have to?" she mumbled sleepily, echoing his sentiments.

Thrawn smiled at her in the pale moonlight. "Yes, we do." He stood and gently picked her up and set her on her feet. They walked back to the camp hand-in-hand.


	11. Chapter 10

AN: Everyone has been quiet for the last few chapters. Does this mean good things, or bad things?

* * *

**Chapter 10**

They stayed on the planet for about a week before Thrawn had the _Springhawk _launched to perform some reconnaissance of the system. He still wasn't satisfied with any of the options for the base on the planet and seemed to be hoping they could find somewhere else. On their second day in space, Chiara and Thrawn sat looking over charts in Forward Visual One as the _Springhawk_ cruised silently through space, sublight engines throbbing quietly in the background.

"So why didn't you like the cave, again?" she asked Thrawn, pointing to the sizable cave she had climbed up to during their stay. "It was pretty large and would be easily defensible. No one could get to you up there."

"Yes, and there would be no way for us to get down if we needed to evacuate. Besides, it wasn't large enough for an entire base and that granite is far too dense for us to practically be able to clear out enough of it to accommodate the base. There is nowhere nearby that we could keep the ships, either," he explained patiently, shifting his arm where it draped around her shoulder.

She nodded in understanding. "I hadn't really thought about the problem of needing to be able to get out quickly, if needed. You can tell I haven't had your military training."

"You do a good job of faking it, most of the time," he told her.

Chiara set her datapad aside and gazed out at the stars. So, he wanted something unusual that would be hard for an enemy to penetrate, but would be easy to get in and out of and where they could have their ships easily accessible. It really was asking a lot. She could see them perhaps finding two out of his three requirements, but she suspected he would end up having to compromise on one of them. Movement caught her eye and she turned her head to look at an unusually large asteroid that was tumbling across the viewport. It was many times the _Springhawk'_s size and moved through space with a slow rotational wobble. Many times the _Springhawk_'s size...

"Thrawn," she said casually, getting up and going over the viewport. "Is there any reason why this base of yours has to be on the planet?"

He frowned at her. "No, but where else in this system would we put it?"

"What about there?" she asked, pointing to the asteroid.

"Now that is an interesting idea," he said, standing up and moving to join her. "I don't believe anyone has ever tried building a base inside an asteroid, before."

"No one would ever suspect it."

"Indeed." His glowing eyes glittered with thought. "Why don't we suit up and take a closer look?"

* * *

It didn't take long for them to don vacsuits and for the navigator to match the asteroid's speed. They waited for the airlock to cycle, then opened the airlock door and carefully jumped across the remaining distance to the asteroid. They were already within the weak gravity field that the asteroid was generating and landing on its surface was relatively easy. Thrawn knelt down to examine the asteroid's soil composition and take a sample.

"It sees solid enough," he observed, his voice crackling in her ear through her helmet's comm. Chiara nodded.

"I think I see a cave over there," she said, pointing. "Shall we check it out?"

Thrawn caught her wrist before she went far. "Wait. The _Springhawk_ should run scan for lifeforms, first. There could be a space slug in there, and those are not pleasant."

"No need to bother the sensor's officer," she told him, closing her eyes and reaching out to the Force. She probed the area around them and into the cave. "There's nothing there," she told him, opening her eyes. "You and I are the only things alive on this rock."

"Let's have a look, then."

It took them longer than Chiara expected to reach the cave, but when they did, they saw that the opening was easily large enough to accommodate a ship the size of the _Springhawk_. Thrawn lead the way in, holding a glowrod aloft to light the way.

"This looks promising," Thrawn commented. The followed the cave for about four hundred meters before they stopped. Even in the semi-darkness, Chiara could see his eyes glowing through his helmet. "If we put the base far enough under the surface, it would be virtually indestructible. There could be defensive emplacements at the mouth of the tunnel to defend against possible incursions, as well. Yes, I believe this would work quite well. It was a brilliant suggestion."

Chiara felt a blush creep up her neck at his compliment. "I bet you could put a few weapons emplacements in craters on the surface, too," she pointed out.

"You're forgetting one important feature," Thrawn told her.

"What's that?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"It's far enough away from the meadow that I don't think we need to worry about anyone stumbling across it."

Chiara laughed. "See, it meets all of your requirements _and_ mine. Where else are you going to put the base that can possibly meet such exacting specifications?"

* * *

They spent a few days in orbit around the asteroid while Thrawn sent a few teams in for further exploration and more detailed sensor readings. All the reports that they received were quite promising. The asteroid was made up of a study rock, but wasn't as hard as the granite on the planet and would be both easily to excavate and quite stable once the base was in place. It would take time, but it was perfectly doable. Thrawn told Chiara that this was nothing compared to some of the other places where the Chiss had established bases and even entire colonies.

When the time came for them to return to Csilla, Chiara felt a bit reluctant to leave and return to the quiet drudgery of life on the planet, as well as to the unyielding attitudes of the Chiss that plagued her everywhere she went. Thrawn assured her they would return relatively soon, though, and that they would be able to live in the small camp on the planet until the base was ready. She did her best to content herself with that and to enjoy their last few days of peace as they returned to Thrawn's icy homeworld.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

They had been back on Csilla for three days when Thrawn came home to find Chiara pouring over his preliminary designs for the base in the study. He dropped two new datacards on the desk and put his arms around her, kissing her neck.

"Hello to you, too," she said, twisting around in the chair and gently tugging his chin up with one hand so she could kiss him. "How was your afternoon?"

Thrawn had been doing most of his work from home, where he could ask Chiara for input on the designs and ideas for the Crustai base, but this afternoon, he had needed to stay behind after they had lunch with their friends to meet with one of the Admiral's regarding his plans for the base. "It went well. Admiral Ond'isckanti thought the idea of concealing the base in the asteroid was quite brilliant."

"Did you tell him it was my idea?" she asked.

"Of course not. He might have rejected it out of spite," Thrawn said, feeling his mouth compress into a thin line.

"It really doesn't matter to me who he thinks came up with it, Thrawn," she assured him. "As long as it got approved, that's the important part."

He smiled at her. She was so generous with her ideas and unconcerned with receiving credit, he found it endearing. A Chiss would have been fighting tooth and nail to have their contributions known, hoping to gain something from it. "I do have something to ask you," he said, moving in front of her to lean back against the desk so they could talk more comfortably. "I know you think you have plenty of clothes and don't want me to get you anything else." He held up a hand to stop her inevitable protest that she already had too much. "Let me finish. For the gala that Thrass is throwing, everyone will either be in dress uniform or formal attire. Since you are not military, you obviously can't wear a dress uniform. Will you permit me to get you a dress for the occasion?"

Chiara blinked at him, the protest she had been intending to voice dying on her lips. "A dress? Umm. I've never worn a dress, before."

One blue-black eyebrow shot up in surprise. "Never?"

"No. I've always worn Jedi robes, until I came here," she told him.

"I suppose your robes could suffice, if that is how you would be most comfortable," he said dubiously.

Chiara regarded him for a moment, considering. "If you want me to, I'll wear a dress. And don't tell me not to be a martyr," she said, cutting him off as he opened his mouth. "I don't have strong feelings either way. Who knows, maybe wearing a dress would be interesting."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. One condition, though." She held up a finger. "I'm not going shopping with you."

"Are you sure? What if I choose something you don't like?" he asked.

"I'm sure whatever you pick will be fine," she assured him.

"Do you have a preference on color? And you'll need shoes - you can't wear your boots with a formal dress," Thrawn told her, already thinking of the styles he had seen in the shops and analyzing what would compliment her most.

"How about either blue or silver? And nothing too crazy for the shoes, please. I'm not used to anything like those heels that Anisi wears, sometimes. I would probably trip and break my ankle," she laughed.

"Of course," he told her with a smile. "I'll get you something in the morning."

"Thrawn? I was wondering, will there be dancing?" Chiara asked.

"Yes, there normally is dancing at such things," he told her. "Why?"

Her blue eyes sparkled in anticipation. "I've never gotten to dance, before. I've seen it done on a few worlds when they threw a celebration to commemorate their new truce and asked me to stay, but it's not really considered proper for a Jedi to dance."

"And yet you want to dance, even though it is forbidden?" he asked, slightly puzzled.

"It's just another foolish restriction. I mean, I guess I can see it being discouraged when we are on a mission - after all, Jedi are typically seen as very serious and serene by the public. But what's the harm in it, here? Besides, it's not like I haven't broken half a dozen other rules just by being with you," she pointed out.

"Very true. If you have never danced before, I probably should give you a few lessons before we attempt it in public."

Thrawn took her hand and led her out into the living room, where he turned on some music. Chiara was a quick study in this as in everything else and they spent the rest of the evening dancing.

* * *

After spending nearly three hours looking through half a dozen shops and more dresses than he could count in his quest to find the right one for Chiara, Thrawn finally gave up and reached for his commlink.

"Anisi," came the voice on the other end.

"It's Thrawn. I need your advice on something, if you don't mind," he told her.

There was a brief pause. "What is it?"

"Dresses. Chiara agreed to let me get her one for the party, but she refused to come shopping."

"...and like a typical male, you have no idea what to get her. Where are you?"

"I'm in the _van'bamituv_."

Anisi's snort came across the comm as more of a crackle. "You're not going to find anything good enough for her there. Meet me at the _ K'uscituscah _in 20 minutes and I'll help you."

Twenty minutes later, Thrawn walked into _Kuscituscah_, the most upscale marketplace in Csaplar. He'd never been there before, but he knew of it. Even as a Merit Adoptive, this place was still well above any standing he could ever hope to achieve. Only the elite moved in these circles and browsed through these shops. He felt conspicuously out of place as he looked around for Anisi. Finally, he spotted her petite frame heading towards him.

"Anisi, thank you for coming. I'm really not sure this is necessary, though," he told her, glancing around the square.

"Of course it is, Thrawn." Anisi said dismissively. "She's an exceptionally beautiful woman, odd skin-tone aside. If you're going to get her a dress, it needs to be one that compliments her. Come on, we'll start with the one I usually shop in." She grabbed his elbow and steered him towards a shop that had ornate Aristocra robes on display in the window.

"Csapla'nis'ima, it has been too long since you have visited my humble shop," an elderly, but regal Chiss said as he aside the green tunic he had been embroidering with the emblem of the Seventh Family and stood to greet them. "What can I do for you, today?"

"I'm looking for a dress for a friend," she told him. "I'll just browse around a bit and let you know if I need anything, if you don't mind."

"Of course. Please, tell me if you have any questions." The shopkeeper returned to his chair and his project.

Anisi guided Thrawn through the racks to a display that held dazzling array of gowns in various colors and styles. "She said that she would prefer something in blue or silver," Thrawn told her, thumbing through one rack. He pulled out a one-shouldered dress that was a powdery blue. "What about this one?"

Anisi barely glanced at the dress. "No. The one-shoulder style is going to make her look too broad. We want something that will draw attention to her neck and arms."

Thrawn stared at her. "What?"

Anisi snorted softly. "Her neck. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how graceful it is. And her shoulders and arms are so exquisitely sculpted, I could almost swear they were carved from ice."

"I hadn't thought of it that way, no," he told her.

"Mhmm. Because you males have one-track minds. We want something that will accent her best features." Anisi pulled a red gown from the rack. "What about this one?"

"It's the wrong color."

She rolled her eyes at him. "The tailor will make it in whatever color I ask him to. I meant the design."

Thrawn took it from her and held it up. "It looks rather low in the front, I don't know if she would be comfortable in it. She's never even worn a dress, before."

Anisi's eyes widened. "Never? What kind of deprived life do these Jedi live?"

"I'll have you know, she never owned more than two sets of clothing before she came here. She now has six, which she considers excessive," Thrawn told her. Anisi looked positively horrified.

"Well, then, maybe not that one." She returned the dress to the rack and moved on. She found another candidate and held it up. "What about this one? It's elegant and a bit understated, which suits her. And, there's this." She held the dress up to the light and moved it so that the he could see the silver patterns that had been delicately woven through the material, but were only visible when they caught the light.

Thrawn ran an appraising eye over it. "I think that would do quite well. Although, I have to say I'm not quite sure how those straps are supposed to work."

Anisi made a face at him. "You're hopeless. Alright, then, let's have them get started on making in the right size and color. You do have her measurements, don't you?"

Thrawn blinked in surprise. "I hadn't thought to measure her, no. I believe I can accurately estimate, them, though."

"If you were anyone else, I'd say an estimate won't be good enough. I know how good your eye is, though. Come on, let's go." Anisi lead the way to the back where the shopkeeper sat.

"I see you have found something that catches your eye. As always, your taste is exquisite," he complimented. "That gown is one of my most recent designs."

"I need to have one made in blue. What shades do you have?" She asked him.

"When do you need it finished?" he asked as he produced several bolts of cloth in varying shades of blue.

"Five days. I'm sorry for the short notice, but it's a gift for a friend. I thought she already had something for the event, but it turns out that she doesn't."

"Of course. I will see to it myself that it is finished in time. Now, which shades would you like?" he asked, displaying the options for them.

"That one," Thrawn said, pointing to the fabric that was of a shade that would match Chiara's eyes almost perfectly. Thrawn provided the shopkeeper with her measurements and he and Anisi headed back out into the square.

"She'll need shoes, too. We can get those next door," Anisi said, steering him by the elbow.

It took quite a bit of work to convince Anisi to let him pick a pair of elegant silver shoes that had only a small heel, rather than the elaborate, high-heeled ones that she normally wore. Thrawn reminded her more than once that Chiara didn't share her height challenges and didn't need her shoes to make her taller.

"What will she be doing with her hair?" Anisi asked. "With that dress, she should put it up."

"I hadn't even considered that. I doubt she knows how to do anything more than the braid she often wears it in," he told her.

"She's almost as hopeless as you are!" Anisi exclaimed. "At least she has an excuse, seemingly. I'll come over and do her hair for her. Does she even own anything decorative for her hair?"

Thrawn felt one corner of his lip twitch. "There is a silver clasp that I got her a few weeks ago. She refuses to wear it, though."

"Well, then, I'll just have to convince her," Anisi told him primly.


	13. Chapter 12

AN: I hope you guys like the next two chapters, they were both fun and challenging to write. I think I've decided it's harder to write for a society that has been partially established as canon than it is to create an entirely new one. I've spent so much time on Wookieepedia, this week! Anyway, please review, I'm anxious to hear what you guys think.

* * *

**Chapter 12  
**

When the day of the gala finally came, it was all that was talked about at lunch. Chiara nibbled at her _bekrcav_ while she listened to Thimas and Daithi debate military protocol and its place at such events. Thrawn brushed the back of her hand with his fingertips before he started dividing a bowl of _nahn'bar_ with the well-remembered creamy red sauce between the two of them. She smiled at him and at the gesture that had become somewhat of a tradition between them ever since he told her that his willingness to share that last serving of _nahn'bar_ with her back when she had first met him had been one of the early signs of his growing affection for her.

"Chiara," Anisi said, breaking into their private moment, "I was thinking you could come over to my house after lunch to get ready."

Chiara blanched. "But it doesn't start for another six hours. It can't possibly take that long to get ready!" she protested.

Anisi pursed her full lips. "I never get to wear a dress to these events, anymore, since I'm required to wear a dress uniform. You, on the other hand, have no such restrictions. I intend to enjoy this vicariously through you and you will be spectacular when I am through with you."

"Ah, well, that would be fine, but I didn't finish going over the latest report from Crustai and Thrawn wanted my help with tweaking part of the base design," Chiara said, looking for an escape.

"I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow," Anisi said primly. "This can't. Right, Thrawn?"

"It will still be there in the morning, yes," Thrawn said neutrally.

"Then it's decided," Anisi said with an air of satisfaction.

Chiara shot Thrawn a mock glare. "Traitor."

"No, I'm simply remaining a neutral party in this dispute," he corrected mildly, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

In retribution, Chiara scooped up one of the remaining _nahn'bar_ from his bowl and ate it with relish. Thrawn gave her a scandalized look, but she could see amusement lurking in his glowing eyes.

"I don't know why you're even bothering to dress her up, Anisi. We all know that I'll be the best looking one there," Fisix said, draping one arm around Anisi's slim shoulders. She shook him off and gave him a scathing look.

"In your dreams, Fisix," she told him tartly.

He melodramatically placed one hand over his heart. "You wound me! But just you wait and see. All the ladies will be lining up to dance with me and swooning in my arms, tonight." Chiara couldn't help snickering. "Surely, you will be the first in line, my fair lady," he told her, snatching up her hand and kissing it. Thrawn looked annoyed.

"Maybe I don't dance," she told him. "Maybe I don't know how. Or maybe I'm bad at it."

"Impossible. You were made for dancing," he told her.

Chiara rolled her eyes at him. "You were made for flattery. The first dance belongs to Thrawn. It would hardly be proper for me to grant the first dance to anyone else. After that, if you can pry me away from him, you are welcome to a dance."

"Only one? I fear my heart will break."

"One is all I'm promising you, right now. The rest will depend on your behavior for the rest of the day, so I suggest you behave," she told him.

"Oh, you are cruel!" he cried.

* * *

"I have to tell you, Chiara," Anisi said as they walked towards her house. They had already stopped by Chiara and Thrawn's much more modest home to pick up her dress and other things. "I may have doubted Thrawn's choice when I first met you, but now that I have had the opportunity to see you two together, I am glad that you are together. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy. He may not be one to show it outwardly, but he is. It's obvious that he loves you."

"Thank you, Anisi, I really do appreciate that. It gets a bit old, hearing that I'm destroying his career and that I'm bad for him," Chiara told her.

"I can understand. I still hear about how foolish I was to choose the military over politics. Sometimes, our people get so caught up in what will provide the most advantage to a particular Family that they forget to consider the preferences and needs of the individual," Anisi observed.

"At least Thrass came around," Chiara said, more to herself.

"What happened? I saw Thrass a few days later and he was not in a pleasant mood about it."

Chiara shrugged. "He and Thrawn argued. Thrawn was pretty upset with him for trying to force him into a pairing with that Syndic just to get him away from me. Thrass didn't help things along. He insulted me and Thrawn almost literally threw him out."

Anisi looked shocked. "He insulted you to your face? What did he say?"

"No, he didn't realize I understand Cheunh, but then he wouldn't apologize. He called me an alien whore. I don't think I've ever seen Thrawn so angry," Chiara told her.

"And rightly so. By taking you under his protection, he is not just responsible for your physical well-being, but also for protecting your honor." They walked in silence for a few minutes before Anisi spoke again. "You are welcome to speak Cheunh with me, if you like. I know you have been working on your pronunciation with Thrawn, but perhaps it would help to have more than one person to speak it with."

"Thank you for the offer," Chiara said, sticking with Minnisiat. "Maybe later, once we reach your house."

"We really do make you uncomfortable, don't we?" Anisi asked.

Chiara glanced at her. "It's not so much that I am uncomfortable with Chiss as it is that they are uncomfortable with me. As a Jedi, I can sense strong emotions in those around me. Every time I pass someone on the street, their reaction to me being a non-Chiss is usually strong enough for me to sense it. It's almost always some variety of negative emotion."

Anisi glanced at her. "You truly have sacrificed a great deal for Thrawn. You can't even walk through our streets in comfort."

"Maybe, but he is such an incredible man that he makes it all worth it," Chiara hedged.

"You do have a point, there," Anisi conceded.

* * *

When they reached Anisi's home, the Chiss took her straight to the large and luxurious 'fresher and got to work on her. She tested a number of beauty products on her and, after making sure they were compatible with her skin, gave Chiara a facial and several other treatments. To Chiara's surprise, she actually found it quite relaxing and not at all unpleasant. Anisi quickly put her at ease and they passed the afternoon enjoyably, chatting in Cheunh as Anisi worked on her. Once Chiara relaxed a bit, she found that she rather liked being pampered and letting someone else do her hair. Anisi carefully piled her long tresses on her head, forming an elaborate and elegant coif.

Chiara was surprised when Anisi told her it was time to put on her dress. The afternoon had flown by without her noticing. She held the dress up for a moment, admiring the beautiful fabric. The color was perfect and she was mesmerized by the intricate craftsmanship that went into the silvery pattern that was only visible when movement made the dress catch the light. It was surprisingly soft and comfortable when she slipped it on, but she could hardly recognize herself in the mirror. It clung gently to her figure and had no sleeves. Instead, a slender strap attached behind her neck to hold it up, leaving her shoulders bare. It had no back, as well, and Chiara could feel the slightest movement of air against her bare skin. She stared at herself in the mirror for several minutes, hardly recognizing herself.

"What do you think?" Anisi asked, coming up behind her in her dress uniform. It was very similar in cut to the traditional uniform, but the black material it was made of seemed finer and, instead of having a green patch on one shoulder to indicate she was a member of the Third Ruling Family, she wore a pair of elaborate green epaulettes.

"I'm really not quite sure," Chiara told her. "The dress is lovely and you did a fantastic job on my hair, but it all feels so strange. I've certainly never shown so much skin in public, before. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this. I think I'd rather wear my Jedi robes."

Anisi put a hand on her arm. "Chiara, you agreed to let Thrawn get you a dress. He put quite a bit of time and effort into this and he hates shopping. If you choose not to wear it now, you will insult him."

Chiara sighed. "You're right, it's too late to back out, now. It makes me self-conscious, though. As if it not obvious enough already that I'm not Chiss, let's flaunt more of my skin than anyone has ever seen."

"Don't be self-conscious," Anisi told her, adjusting one of the curls she had carefully piled on Chiara's head. "Flawless skin like yours is meant to be shown off. And it's not as if anyone would miss that you aren't Chiss if you wore your robes. You have already made significant contributions to the Chiss. We are a proud people and take great pride in our accomplishments. You would do well to remember that. Carry yourself with pride and they will have to respect you. And don't use Minnisiat, tonight. You have bound yourself to a Chiss officer, which gives you the right to speak Cheunh. Your pronunciation may not be perfect, but it is certainly more than acceptable."

Chiara nodded, taking mental note of the instructions. "Thank you, Anisi," she told the other woman. "For everything. I really do appreciate everything that you have done and the way you have accepted me without question."

"This is what friends are for, and any woman who is good enough for Thrawn is good enough for me," Anisi told her primly.

Just then, there was a knock at the door to Anisi's suite. "Anisi?" Thrawn's voice said. Suddenly, Chiara found herself wondering nervously what Thrawn would think of her in a dress. She fidgeted with the fabric.

"Yes, we're here. Come in," Anisi called.

Chiara held her breath as Thrawn stepped into the room, resplendent in his dress uniform. The burgundy epaulettes emphasized his well-muscled shoulders and impressive physique. He glanced over Anisi's uniform before his eyes settled on Chiara. His jaw dropped open when he saw her.

"I'll give you two a minute," Anisi told them with a smile, heading for the door. She paused just inside to give Thrawn a warning look. "Don't you dare mess up her hair."

Thrawn waited until Anisi closed the door behind her and crossed to Chiara. "You look absolutely stunning," he murmured, kissing her cheek. She shivered as she felt his fingers brush against the bare skin of her back. She straightened his epaulettes a bit and noted that the had polished the rank insignias on his collar until they shone in the light.

"And you cut quite the handsome figure in that dress uniform." She put her arms around him and kissed him lightly. Thrawn pulled her against his body and his lips parted beneath hers.

"I have something for you," he told her when he finally broke off the kiss. He produced a small box from a concealed pocket. "You don't have to wear it tonight if you don't want to, though."

Biting her lower lip a bit, Chiara accepted the box and carefully lifted the lid. Inside was a small, white gem dangling from a delicate silver chain. "Is this the same kind of crystal you gave me for my lightsaber?" she asked, examining it.

"It is," he confirmed. "Would you like to wear it?"

_He really wants me to_, she realized. _I'm already wearing this dress, adding a necklace won't kill me._ _Besides, it will make him happy_. "Okay." She handed him back the box and turned so he could put it on her. He carefully lifted the necklace from the box before slipping the box back into his pocket. His fingers brushed lightly against her neck as he fastened the necklace, then kissed her neck and turned her so that she was looking at her reflection in the mirror. Seeing Thrawn standing behind her and feeling his arms around her made every last bit of tension and self-consciousness flee. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning back against his chest.

Thrawn slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. "You're welcome."

Anisi tapped lightly on the door. "Are you two ready to go?" she asked. "We wouldn't want to be late."

Chiara smiled at Thrawn's reflection in the mirror. "I suppose we shouldn't keep her waiting, should we?"


	14. Chapter 13

AN: Please note that Thrass is using Chiss years, here. Thrawn is actually about 25 in this story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it was challenging but fun to write! Review, please? I'd really like to hear what you guys think of it.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Thrass was waiting for them when they arrived in Anisi's luxurious hovercar. He hurried forward to help Chiara and Anisi out, which turned out to be a good thing, since Chiara stepped on the hem of her dress as she stepped onto the ground and stumbled. Thrass steadied her with a hand under her elbow. She blushed at her clumsiness. "Thank you. I'm afraid I'm not used to wearing dresses," she confessed

"No one would be able to tell from looking at you," Thrass assured her. "You look quite stunning for an alien."

Thankfully, Chiara knew that he meant it as a compliment. She was saved from replying by Thrass shifting his attention to helping Anisi out of the hovercar. "Anisi, I'm glad you could make it," he told her. "You are most welcome, here. Please, go inside and we will give you a few minutes to join the rest of the guests."

"Thank you, Thrass," Anisi said. She turned to Chiara and smoothed back a wisp of hair that had escaped her elegant coif before disappearing inside.

"Shall we?" Thrass asked after a moment, gesturing them inside.

Thrawn offered Chiara his arm as Thrass lead them inside. Chiara had never been inside his house before. She noted that it was considerably larger than the one that she and Thrawn shared, though not quite as large as Anisi's. Clearly, her family position had more of an influence on her position in society, even though she had strayed from their path of political pursuits, than Thrawn's higher rank did. Thrass lead them into a large hall that was filled with guests. As they entered, more than two dozen pairs of glowing red eyes were suddenly fixed on Thrawn and Chiara. She could feel their mix of curiosity and antipathy towards her as Thrass addressed his guests.

"My friends and fellows," Thrass began. "Today, we are gathered here to celebration the promotion of my brother, Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Through his exceptional skill at tactics and warfare, he has distinguished himself from his peers. It was his quick thinking and exemplary ability that not only saved countless lives when the Eeleme attacked the base at Csanis, but also enabled him to pursue and destroy them before they could flee with only a handful of ships. At nineteen, my brother becomes the youngest Chiss ever to hold the rank of Force Commander. Let us celebrate this remarkable achievement, as well as his union with Chiara Matao, who has aided and shared in his victories against the Eeleme and has bound herself to share with him all the days of their lives. I give you to you Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo and Jedi Master Chiara Matao!"

Chiara carefully kept the surprise from her face as the guests all applauded. She could sense Thrawn's surprise, too. Apparently, he didn't realize Thrass was making this a wedding celebration of sorts, too. Not that they were really married by Republic standards, but that was what she had mentally taken to calling the Chiss tradition of a man simply taking a woman into his home. _I guess Thrass really has come around and accepted that I'm not going anywhere_, she thought.

Thrawn lead her towards the nearest group of guests, all of whom seemed to be members of the Defense Fleet hierarchy, judging by their uniforms. _It would seem that Thrass isn't the only reticent to our relationship that has come around_, Chiara thought as she noticed Admiral Ar'alani in the cluster of Chiss officers. She still hadn't forgotten how the Admiral had deliberately ignored the attempts of High Command to contact her and rescind Thrawn's promotion orders before it was too late. At the same time, though, she still remembered how the Admiral had sent Thrawn off on a wild nerf chase simply to punish them after they foiled the plot she and Thrass had hatched to pair Thrawn with another woman. It was easier for Chiara to look past that in light of her more recent actions and give her a warm greeting.

"Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, congratulations on being given your first command!" one of the officers said, clapping Thrawn on the shoulder. Chiara noted that he wore the yellow of the Fourth Family and that the rank insignias on his collar indicated he was a General.

"Thank you, General Prardr'ins'iskin," Thrawn replied, gripping the older man's arm just below the elbow. "May I present Jedi Master Chiara Matao of the Galactic Republic." Chiara could feel the General's eyes on her as he introduced her to the rest of the officers. She was grateful both for her diplomatic training and for the Jedi memory enhancement tricks she had learned over the years, or she would have never been able to keep all the names and ranks straight.

"It is an honor to meet you, Jedi Master Chiara Matao. I was one of Mitth'raw'nuruodo's instructors at Academy and I always knew he wouldn't settle for your average woman. I must say that I never expected him to look outside the borders of the Ascendancy, though," Prard'ins'iskin told her after Thrawn had finished the introductions.

"The honor of the introduction is mine, General," she enunciated carefully in Cheunh. "And you were right to think he wouldn't look outside Chiss borders to find a woman. After all, I was inside the Ascendancy's territory when he found me."

"An excellent point. Tell me, are the reports true that you can sense an attack before it happens?" he asked. "That would be a very useful ability."

"It's quite useful," Chiara agreed. "Unfortunately, it's not always 100% reliable - there may be some dangers or threats that I don't sense before they happen or that I don't sense in time to respond to. Like the Eeleme ship that was rigged to blow, for instance. By the time I sensed it with any clarity, it was too late."

"It wasn't too late for you to stop yourself from being injured," Thrawn pointed out. "You simply chose not to."

"I never quite understood that part of the reports, myself," a female with Vice-Admiral insignias pinned at her elegant throat said. Chiara played back the introductions in her mind briefly and located the woman in the stream of names that Thrawn had rattled off. _Sev'ral'inskala_, Chiara thought.

"Which part?" Thrawn asked mildly.

"Why she chose to save you and no one else."

"If there had been enough time, I certainly would have saved the others. I have limitations, though, and one of them is that the more things I try to levitate at once, the less control I have," Chiara explained. "I barely managed to get Thrawn out of the way without causing him serious injury. If I had tried to save more than just him, I probably would have killed them all."

"An interesting and convenient explanation," Sev'ral'inskala said stiffly, clearly not buying it.

"If you will excuse us," Thrawn interjected, saving Chiara from needing to respond, "We should visit with some of the others. I thank you for coming and will look forward to speaking with you further." He tucked Chiara's arm under his and lead her from the group.

"What was that about?" Chiara murmured in Basic, trying to ignore the Vice-Admiral's hostile gaze that she could feel boring into her back.

Thrawn glanced at her. "Vice-Admiral Sev'ral'inskala's brother was one of the warriors who died in the explosion. She assigned him there herself and I suspect she is trying to find someone else to shoulder the blame for his death."

"And an alien with mysterious powers is such a convenient scapegoat," Chiara muttered bitterly under her breath, fighting to keep a pleasant expression on her face as Thrawn lead her to another circle of friends. If Thrawn heard her, he didn't respond.

It came as a bit of a relief when Chiara realized some time later that Thrawn had finished introducing her to everyone and the individual groups of Chiss were beginning to mix a bit more. Another dozen or so had arrived while they were making their rounds, but they came over and introduced themselves to Chiara and were, largely, friends of Thrawn whom she hadn't yet had occasion to meet. Once they had greeted everyone, Thrawn lead her to the refreshment table and handed her a fluted glass of something that smelled vaguely alcoholic. She sipped at it tentatively, wondering if it would be as heavily spiced as most other Chiss beverages were. To her surprise, it had a sweet, light flavor that was quite refreshing. She sipped at it distractedly while she watched Thimas engaging one of the senior officers in a lively debate out of the corner of her eye and wondered what bit of military protocol he had found to contest now.

"Are you holding up alright?" Thrawn asked her softly, bringing her attention back to him. "I know this must be stressful. I'm quite impressed by your use of Cheunh, by the way, and so is everyone else."

"I'm fine, Thrawn, really, she said, forcing a smile. "Stop worrying about me and enjoy your evening. This is for you, after all."

"It is for us," he corrected. "Or did you not hear Thrass?"

Chiara blushed a bit. She wasn't used to being the center of attention and wasn't sure that she was comfortable with it. "I heard him. Did you know he was going to do that?"

"I had no idea. I think it is safe to say that he truly has accepted you, now; he clearly did that for you."

"What do you mean, for me?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Now every man here has to dance with you before the night is out. It would be an insult to us both if they left without asking you for at least one dance," he told her. "It also gives you a chance to make a good impression on them that you might not otherwise have, as they are now forced to interact with you one-on-one and cannot ignore you."

"No pressure," she muttered to herself.

Thrawn smiled at her. "You're doing fine. Just relax and be yourself. You've been in plenty of delicate diplomatic situations with much higher stakes than this. This is nothing by comparison."

"I don't see how it gets much higher-stakes than your career and happiness," she told him. His reminder did help her relax a bit, though. "At least we thought ahead and you gave me dancing lessons. I suppose this means I'm not allowed to spend the whole night dancing with you, though."

"No, that would be equally insulting to those present," he agreed. "I still have the right to the first dance, though."

Just then, the doors opened and a tall, regal looking Chiss in elaborate burgundy robes strode in, flanked by two younger Chiss. Thrawn stiffened slightly, then took Chiara's drink and set it on the table. "Come," he murmured urgently to her as he took her arm and lead her towards the newcomers.

Thrass beat them there and gave a low bow. "Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik, you are most welcome here." He turned to Thrawn and Chiara as they approached. "May I present Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo and Jedi Master Chiara Matao. We are honored that you have chosen to help us celebrate my brother's promotion, as well as his union with Chiara."

The Aristocra's eyes flicked to Thrawn and Chiara, then back to Thrass, clearly surprised at that last bit and trying to hide it. "I accept your welcome and greet you in return," he intoned. "My congratulations on your recent promotion, Commander. I would be honored if you would grant me permission to dance with the lady in the course of the evening."

"I grant it fully and ask that you honor her with the first dance," Thrawn said in a formal tone. Chiara almost objected, but the look in his eye warned her against it. _This must be some sort of tradition, for him to defer the first dance to someone of the Aristocra's standing_, she realized_._ Knowing that an Aristocra was a high ranking member of the Family and that his presence here and his impression of her had the potential to have a tremendous impact on their future, she swallowed her disappointment as he took her hand.

"Do you speak, my lady?" he asked with a sardonic smile.

"Yes, Aristocra," she said, immensely grateful for her years of diplomatic experience that now kicked in. "Please, pardon my impropriety, I meant no offense. I am not quite accustomed to all of the Chiss traditions yet and have never before had occasion to meet one of your status."

"Let us rectify that oversight, then," he said, leading her to the dance floor. The strains of the Chiss version of a waltz filled the air. The alternating 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5 meter of the song still felt odd to her, but the Aristocra was clearly so practiced at the dance that she found it easy to follow him. "Tell me, my lady, how do you find it here on Csilla?"

"I have yet to see more than Csaplar, but I like it very much. I admire the strength of your people to continue to thrive here in spite of the adversities you face as a result of the cold and the ice," she told him and they whirled around the dance floor.

"Your world is not so cold, I presume," he asked in a politely disinterested tone.

"It is not. The weather is actually very strictly controlled and it never rains without the weather controllers permitting it to do so," she explained.

"You can control the weather?" he asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yes. The technology is not so simple, though, and it has limitations. For instance, they can put off rain for a day or two, but they cannot stop it entirely. If they tried, a massive storm would eventually break out and do great damage. The potential for mishandling it is so great that no other planet has ever attempted it," she told him.

"It must be useful indeed for agriculture."

"It might be, if there was any open ground left on the planet for cultivation. As it is, the entire planet is one massive city. Everything must be brought in from neighboring systems, much as it is here."

"A city that covers an entire planet? Most interesting," the Aristocra commented. "How many people live there?"

"There are over a trillion permanent residents, plus transient visitors. It is the capital of the Republic, so it sees quite a bit of traffic." Chiara stumbled a bit over the pronunciation of the last word. She repeated the last half of the sentence, articulating carefully and then added, "Your pardon, Aristocra. I'm afraid my Cheunh is still far from perfect."

"It is good enough, particularly given the complexity of the language and the relatively brief time you have been here," he pointed out.

"Thank you, Aristocra, you are most kind," she replied, feeling a blush creep up her neck. They continued to make polite small talk as they danced. Her dress swirled gently about her ankles as she moved and she could feel the eyes of every guest on her. It came as a bit of a relief when the dance finally ended and the Aristocra escorted her back to Thrawn.

"She is an excellent dancer, whatever else she may be," The Aristocra observed, lifting one blue-black eyebrow as he passed her hand off to Thrawn.

"She is, indeed," Thrawn agreed, a note of pride in his voice. "If you will excuse us, Aristocra, I believe I shall claim Chiara for the second dance before anyone else does."

"Of course," the Aristocra said, inclining his head slightly.

"That was very well done," Thrawn murmured to her as he lead her back to the dance floor. "The Aristocra is not easy to impress, but he seems to like you. You clearly did an excellent job of engaging him in conversation."

Chiara rolled her eyes at him as he put one hand on her back and took her hand in the other. "Does everything have to be about politics for you Chiss?"

"Politics are part of our daily lives, Chiara," he told her as they started to dance. "It shapes nearly every thought and action we have."

"I know, but can you forget about politics for just a minute and enjoy our dance? I promise I will be politically-minded for the rest of the night."

His eyes glittered in amusement. "Of course," he replied.

* * *

By the time the evening had ended, Chiara's feet had grown rather tired from all the dancing. She had danced with every single male that had been present at least once. Thrawn's friends had all danced with her several times and Fisix had made an attempt at monopolizing her once she had made the required rounds with all the guests present. Thankfully, Thrawn and Anisi had put a stop to his antics by introducing him to a Syndic of the Fourth family who was in attendance. Fisix had spent the rest of the evening courting her attention, much to Chiara's relief. Thrass had seemed quite pleased with how the evening had gone, even though the Aristocra and his companions hadn't stayed long.

Chiara waited until the last guest had left and sank down onto the nearest chair, slipping the shoes off her aching feet. Thrawn sat down next to her and seemed to relax for the first time all evening. Thrass joined them a moment later.

"Well, I think that went rather well," he observed.

Thrawn nodded thoughtfully. "It was most fortuitous that the Aristocra arrived when he did. He set the tone for everyone else on how to interact with Chiara. It was a brilliant stroke on your part to make this evening about us, as well as my promotion, to insure that everyone had to dance with her. I do believe that she was able to at least partially win several people over as a result."

"Everyone was very polite, at least outwardly," Chiara agreed.

"Outwardly?" Thrass questioned.

"She can sense the emotions of those around her. It's a Jedi trait," Thrawn explained.

"Interesting. What did you sense from our guests?" Thrass asked, leaning forward.

"Most of them were curious or indifferent about me. There were only a handful that were harboring hostility. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have come, had they known they were going to end up having to dance with me," Chiara said dryly.

"Who, besides Vice-Admiral Sev'ral'inskala?" Thrawn asked. Chiara listed off the names of three officers and a Syndic from the Eighth family that had been in attendance. Thrawn didn't seem surprised by any of the names. "And what of the Aristocra? What did you pick up from him?"

"I don't think he feel strongly about me, either way. I couldn't pick anything up from him, even when I tried; he's too calm and composed," Chiara told him.

"He seemed to like you well enough," Thrass observed.

Chiara stifled a yawn and glanced at the wall chrono. It was nearly 0100. "Can we finish our political analysis of the evening in the morning, gentlemen? I don't know about you two, but I'm tired and my feet hurt. Bed sounds quite good, right now."

"Of course," Thrass said. "Come, I will take you home."

Chiara sat tucked under Thrawn's arm and with her head resting on his shoulder as Thrass guided the hovercar through the empty streets. She was just starting to doze off when they eased to a stop in front of their house. Thrawn thanked his brother again for hosting the event and gathered Chiara into his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, putting one arm around his neck.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, his eyes glittering with mirth. "I'm carrying you inside. You did say that your feet were tired."

"How thoughtful of you," she said a teasing tone as she snuggled her head under his chin. He opened the front door and carriedher to their room, setting her down on the edge of the bed.

"You were brilliant, tonight," he told her, stroking her cheek.

She caught his fingers with one hand and kissed them. "It's only because I have you to be brilliant for," she told him. "You were amazing, too, although I suspect you have a lot more practice at this sort of thing than I do. Now, will you help me figure out how to take my hair down? Anisi didn't tell me how to get it out."

Thrawn sat down behind her and carefully worked out the pins that held her hair in place. He had a small pile of them by the time the last curl came free. He ran his fingers through her hair, combing out the curls and loosening the intricate braid that framed her face. He let his hands rest lightly on her bare shoulders as he finished. "Exactly how tired are you?" he whispered in a husky voice, warming her jawline with a kiss.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Over the next few days, whenever Chiara happened to meet one of the officers that had been at the party while she was coming or going from the base, they almost always paused to greet her. General Prard'ins'iskin had even gone so far as to seek her and Thrawn out in order to invite them to dinner. They spent an enjoyable evening together, swapping battle stories and debating tactics. The General was particularly interested in learning more about Chiara's combat skills. By the end of the evening, he pronounced her a fine match for Thrawn, in spite of the opinions of High Command.

The plans for the base at Crustai were progressing nicely and the excavation of the asteroid was scheduled to begin in three months. They would make a trip to the system for the ceremonies as the work on the base was undertaken, but then they would be free to travel throughout the Ascendancy on leave until they were ready to begin construction on the base in earnest. Thrawn had promised to take Chiara to two for the more temperate planets that the Chiss had colonized for some relaxation. One of the planets, he told her, was comprised of a mostly bioluminescent ecology. There was an entire cave that he wanted to visit that was filled with lifeforms that gave off subtle light, as well as a lake that glowed in the semi-darkness of the cave. Chiara found herself very much looking forward to some time alone with Thrawn.

A little over a week after the gala, Chiara lounged on the grass in Anisi's garden with Thrawn one evening, leaning back against his broad chest. Anisi, Daithi and Shixan all sat nearby, enjoying the peaceful evening and each others company. Fisix's squadron had shipped out the day after the party and Thimas had been reassigned to a new post shortly thereafter. Without Fisix's antics antics and Thimas's friendly bickering with Daithi over military protocol or Chiss law, their group had become much more somber.

The lights in the high-domed ceiling flickered a bit, making all of them glance up nervously. A storm of unusual strength had blow in on the surface early that morning, grounding all ships with its gale-force winds and driving snow. The storm itself posed little threat to the city nestled deep under the ice, but apparently the last storm of this magnitude has caused some of the ice to shift around the city, leaving most of the city running on backup power for several days.

"It's a shame about Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik's family," Ar'alani observed as she glanced up at the flakes of ice that drifted down from the dome as the ice groaned in stress.

"What do you mean?" Thrawn asked, stopping in mid-motion as he twirled a lock of Chiara's hair around his fingers.

"I thought you would have heard, since they are from your family," Anisi said. "His family was returning from a trip _ Ch'isnusb_ just as the storm started. It looked like it was just a normal snowstorm, at first, so they tried to land. The wind came up when they were about half way down. We know they went down, but there was so much sensor interference from the storm already that we don't know where."

"Why not send out search parties?" Chiara asked, "Surely they could have survived the crash."

"It's too dangerous," Thrawn explained. "Any ship out in that storm would be flying blind, and this isn't just a blizzard - there's a magnetic storm going on, as well. It's scrambling all of our sensors so badly that we can hardly tell up from down. Even if the search teams could fly safely, they would never be able to locate the downed ship in all the snow without their sensors."

"And you don't think their life support will hold out until the storm clears?" she persisted.

"The last time we had a blizzard of this strength and magnitude, it lasted for over a month," Daithi told her gravely. "Even an intact ship would have a hard time maintaining livable conditions for that long. They are bound to have at least some hull damage from the crash. There is nothing we can do, right now, and by the time we find them, they will almost certainly be dead."

"There may be nothing you can do," Chiara told him, "But you're not a Jedi."

Thrawn tightened his arm around her waist. "Don't even think about it," he told her. "It would be beyond reckless, even by your standards. It would be suicidal. You wouldn't even make it out of the launch tubes before the winds made you crash, too. What good would you do anyone, then?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence in my piloting skills," she said coolly.

Thrawn sighed in frustration. "This has nothing to do with your skill, Chiara. No one can fly in this. And don't even think about trying it on foot; between the terrain and the predators, even you couldn't last a single day. It is a most unfortunate accident, but there is nothing that you or anyone else can do."

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do," Chiara warned him. "When have I ever told you I could do something and not been able to deliver? I know own limitations and this isn't one of them. You need to stop doubting me."

"I don't doubt your abilities," he assured her. "I doubt your knowledge of what it is like on the surface."

"I may not have spent time on the surface of Csilla, but when I was sixteen, my Master dropped me off on Hoth, which is almost as inhospitable as here, with nothing more than my lightsaber and a very small survival kit. He did it as a training exercise and made me stay there for two whole weeks before he picked me up. I'm not saying that Csilla is the same as Hoth, but I do know how to handle myself in frozen tundra," Chiara told him.

"The answer is still no. You are not going out there and risking your life needless," Thrawn said in a tone that was clearly meant to put an end to the discussion.

Chiara opened her mouth, intent on telling him that there was nothing he could do to stop her, then paused when she saw the concerned look on his face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, instead. "Thrawn, we've been over this before," she said softly. "You can't hold me back from doing things because you are afraid I might get hurt. I cannot, in good conscience, stand by and allow someone to die when I know I have the power to save them."

Thrawn stared at her for a moment, conflict evident in his glowing eyes. "Do you have to be so stubborn?" he asked, at last.

She gave him a hint of a smile. "Admit it, you love that about me. And think of it this way: if I rescue the Aristocra's family, the Eighth Family will have pretty much no choice but to accept me."

"That is a very large 'if'," Thrawn pointed out. "And when did you start thinking about the political outcomes of your actions?"

Chiara lifted one eyebrow at him. "Thrawn, I've been involved in politics to one degree or another for longer than you have been alive. It's not so much that I don't think about the political consequences of my actions as much as it is that I've decided that I just don't care, for the most part."

Thrawn gave a resigned sigh. "Alright. If you're going up there, though, I am going with you."

"No, you're not," Chiara told him flatly. "I can't keep an eye on a couple of juvenile Chiss and a woman who probably thinks it's the end of the world if she breaks a nail and keep you safe. I'm going alone."

Thrawn's eyebrows lifted in surprise and disapproval. "Chiara, I know the surface. It's part of our training that we are required to survive several days on our own up there. You don't need to protect me, either."

"I can do this on my own," she told him, still resisting.

"I'm trying to offer you a compromise that we can both live with. I believe that a compromise usually entails both sides giving up some portion of what they want," he said pointedly.

Chiara stared at him for a moment, then let her gaze fall to her hands in her lap. "Alright, if you insist."

"Excellent. That is settled, then. I presume you have a plan for where you intend to get a ship? No captain is going to agree to take us to the surface in this weather."

"I was hoping that Anisi might let us borrow that small ship of hers, again. It handled well in the normal wind; hopefully, it will hold up against the storm fairly well, too." Chiara turned to Anisi. She, Daithi and Shixan were all sitting, frozen in place. It suddenly occurred to Chiara that they were probably shocked by hearing her and Thrawn argue publicly. She made a mental note to try not to contradict Thrawn in front of others in the future. "Anisi, would you mind if we borrow your ship? I can't promise you that we won't scratch it this time, though."

Anisi finally unfroze, blinking at Chiara. "I suppose," she said, sounding somewhat unwilling. "I haven't even had a chance to take her out since you two borrowed her, last time," she remarked.

"You're going to need environmental suits to survive up there," Daithi piped up. "And rations. You two could possibly get trapped up there."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Anisi asked, a worried look clouding her delicate features. "I am sure there are other, less dangerous ways for you to gain the favor of the Eighth Family."

"This is the opportunity that has presented itself, Anisi. It will be fine. And I'll try not to scratch your ship," Chiara promised.

"I'm more concerned about you damaging yourselves than I am about my ship," Anisi told her. "If you are determined, then let us make sure you are both prepared and well supplied. Meet me back here in two hours and I will have everything arranged for you."


	16. Chapter 15

** Chapter 15**

A few hours later, Thrawn, Chiara, Shixan, Daithi and Anisi were gathered in Anisi's private hangar. The storm above showed no signs of abating and ice of the dome high above them was beginning to show signs of stress from the shifting ice and snow on the surface. Anisi had managed to put together some very impressive supplies for them in a short amount of time. The environmental suits were top-of-the-line and were efficient enough to run off a single power cell for several weeks at a time. There was also a generous supply of rations, as well as a portable canteen that melted and sterilized ice into drinking water. There was a foldable ice pick, several emergency blankets and a pot of hot _Vikn_ that Anisi had promised them would stay warm for several days.

"Thank you, Anisi," Chiara told the Chiss as she and Thrawn prepared to board. "I promise I will do my best to bring your ship back to you. With any luck, we will be back by tomorrow night."

"I hope so," Anisi said, her normally prim voice strained with worry.

Chiara and Thrawn boarded and the two of them began their pre-flight check. "Are you sure you can handle this ship in the storm?" Thrawn asked. "You barely flew it for five minutes, last time."

"Would you please just trust me when I tell you I can do something?" Chiara said, her fingers skimming across the controls.

"I don't even trust myself to fly in a storm like this. The fact that I am sitting in the co-pilot's seat should tell you that I trust you. I just want to be sure you are doing this because you truly think you can, and not out of some urge of martyrdom," he told her, tapping at the engine start-up control.

"I can do this, Thrawn," she told him. "If I didn't believe 100% that I could, I wouldn't be going up there. I certainly wouldn't let you come with me if I had any doubts in my mind."

Thrawn took a deep breath. "Then let us begin. Tell me what you need me to do."

"For now, I need you to be quiet. I'm going to need to be totally in tune with the Force, which means you can't distract me by talking. Keep an eye on the engine monitors and make sure the intake doesn't get clogged by snow or ice." She carefully eased the slender craft up off the ground and headed for the launch tube that lead to the surface. "Oh, and don't worry if I close my eyes," she added as she stretched out in the Force. "It's easier to focus, that way." She saw Thrawn's eyes widen as her eyelids fell half-closed.

The whistled through the launch tube, buffeting them almost as soon as they were inside the narrow confines of the tunnel. Chiara's hands danced over the controls as she fought to keep the little ship from being dashed against the wall. Much to his credit, Thrawn managed to maintain stoic silence, even when she overcorrected at one point and nearly sent them careening into the tunnel wall. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until they shot out of the launch tube and into the open air. Except, the "open" air appeared to be a solid wall of white. She could hardly see even half a meter beyond the viewport when she opened her eyes. The little ship shuddered and shook like a frightened child in the gale-force winds that assailed them.

"Okay, now you can help me a bit more," she told Thrawn. "I'm going to try to fly a search grid in this mess. I need you to help me stay on track."

"Alright. I assume you have a plan on how you will locate them while our sensors are useless?" he asked.

"Yes. I am going to try to locate their presence in the Force," she told him. "The only problem is that we will have to be relatively close for me to find them, so we are going to have to fly close to the ground."

"Just how close?" Thrawn asked darkly as the ship bucked in the wind.

"Close." It was probably just as well that the snow was swirling about them too heavily for Thrawn to be able to see anything. She had a feeling even he would have a hard time sitting there calmly as she struggled to hold the ship less than ten meters off the ground if he knew just how close they were. Cautiously, she balanced her awareness between flying the ship and reaching out through the Force to try and locate any lifesigns in the area.

* * *

After five hours of searching, the blinding white wall in front of them gradually darkened into swirling flecks of gray against a black backdrop. Chiara could feel knots of tension forming between her shoulders from the stress of trying to divide her attention between flying and trying to find the downed ship. Fatigue was starting to eat away at her response times, too.

"I think it's time to find somewhere to put down for the night," Chiara told Thrawn. "Mark where we are leaving off on the map and then see if you can find somewhere safe for us to land, please."

Thrawn studied the chart for a few moments. "There is a plain not too far from here where we should be able to set down. Adjust your course by 14 degrees to the starboard."

A sudden gust of wind struck them as Chiara made the course change, nearly slamming the ship into the ground. Her breath hissed through her teeth as she fought to steady them. "Is it me, or is this storm actually getting worse?" she asked.

Landing in such high winds was a more difficult task that Chiara had anticipated, but she eventually managed to set them down with a hard jolt once they reached the plain. Thrawn switched the engines to standby and keyed on the hull-warmer, which had been specifically designed to keep the ship from being covered over in ice or snow. Chiara unstrapped from the pilot's seat and tried to work some of the tension out of her neck. Noticing her discomfort, Thrawn moved behind her and gently massaged her neck. Chiara sighed as the muscles started to relax under his strong hands.

"You look exhausted," he observed, his strong hands kneading her shoulders.

"I don't think I've ever tried to do work that required so much concentration for such an extended time period, before," she admitted. "It's a lot more draining then I had expected."

"You don't have to do this, you know," he told her. "No one will blame us if we go back to Csaplar in the morning."

She leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes wearily. "I know. I can do this, though. It's just going to take more time."

Thrawn kissed the top of her head. "I believe you. I'll make us something to eat and then we will got to bed so we can start at first light in the morning. That way you can rest for while in the afternoon, if you need to, and still have light left."

Chiara smiled at him gratefully. She could sense that he was still feeling a bit doubtful about this whole affair, but he was trying his best to hide it for her and be supportive, which she appreciated. Thrawn disappeared into the galley and returned a few minutes later, two steaming plates in hand.

"What is that?" Chiara asked, sniffing at the delicious aroma that came from the dish.

"It's filet of _htisahtin'casi_," he told her. "Let us hope this is the only _htisahtin'casi_ we encounter on this expedition. Also, Anisi left us this." Thrawn set a silver container down on the the control panel. There was a handwritten note attached to it that read, "Good luck and be careful. Try not to scratch the ship. -Anisi."

"Is this that more _nahn'barvav_?" Chiara asked.

Thrawn grinned at her. "Indeed."

* * *

When they woke the next morning, nestled together on the narrow bunk, they could hear the wind screaming over the ship. In the tight confines of the bunk, she had fallen asleep with her head on his chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heart. His arms wrapped around her had seemed to drive out the vague chill that even the life support system of the ship couldn't quite keep at bay. As they lay together without speaking, Chiara took a deep breath, steeling herself for the challenges that she knew lay ahead of them. She'd had a vague dream of shadows in swirling snow in the night that transformed into hideously large felines that she suspected were her brain's representation of the predator that she knew lurked on the surface. She wasn't sure if it was a simple dream, though, or a premonition from the Force. If it was the later, she had no idea what it could possibly mean.

After a moment, she inhaled deeply and relaxed into the Force. Thrawn's heart thudded in her ear and the wind howled more loudly then ever as she pushed her enhanced senses outward. She brushed the consciousness of some sort of animal, huddled and shivering in a small cave nearby. She looking still farther out, stretching her abilities farther than she had ever tried before and found nothing. She stifled a sigh of frustration as she let her senses diminish to normal ranges. She had known this wouldn't be easy, but she had to admit that the ferocity of the storm had caught her by surprise.

"Are you alright?" Thrawn murmured after a moment.

Chiara sighed. "I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all."

"About?" he prompted.

"About how much harder this is than I thought it would be. I didn't expect it to be easy, but this storm really is something else," she admitted.

To her relief, Thrawn didn't say "I told you so." Instead, he tightened his arms around her and kissed her brow. "Even I didn't expect it to be quite so bad. Do you want to continue, or shall we turn back?"

"No. I can't give up now," she resolved. "We'll try again and then re-evaluate tonight, if we haven't found them."

"Very well." Thrawn slid out of the bunk and turned back to tuck the covers under her chin. "Why don't you stay here and rest while I make breakfast? You have a long day ahead of you."


	17. Chapter 16

AN: Thanks for the follow, Theoikon!

Only four reviews and this is chapter 16... Do you guys not like this one as much as the last one? Give me some feedback, please, I always want to know what I can do to make it more interesting/better!

* * *

**Chapter 16  
**

It was nearing midafternoon and Chiara was beginning to wonder if she had indeed bitten off more than she could chew by coming out here. The ship was listing slightly to one side as the result of a huge boulder of ice that had struck them midmorning, nearly sending them spiraling into ice cliff it had fallen from. She had been able to regain control just in time, but continuing to keep them aloft was becoming an ever harder chore as the damaged engine faltered. She was beginning to think she was going to have to admit defeat and return to the city when, finally, she felt something. It was just a vague flicker on the edge of her awareness, but it definitely felt sentient. She veered away from her search pattern towards the consciousness she had sensed.

"Chiara, you're going off course," Thrawn warned her.

"Shh," she told him, concentrating hard. Yes, there it was again, and getting stronger. As she got closer, she could sense three separate minds somewhere nearby. "I think I found them."

"Where?" Thrawn asked, peering out the viewport into the swirling snow. It was impossible to see anything through the perpetual blanket of white.

Chiara risked shifting her attention away from flying for a split second. "About two hundred meters in front of us," she told him, quickly shifting her focus back to flying as they drifted dangerously close to an outcropping of ice. "I'm going to see if I can find somewhere for us to put down."

Thrawn studied the charts. "There are mostly ice cliffs here, it's going to be difficult to find anywhere to land."

"I can do it, just don't let me stray too far from them," she told him. Closing her eyes and letting the Force guide her hands, she circled around and let the ship slowly descend towards the ground. A gust of wind caught them when they were just a few meters off the ground, making them set down hard enough that Chiara's teeth jarred together. She heard the damaged engine scream in protest and Thrawn quickly shut the engine down to avoid it overheating. She took a deep breath. "Well, we're down. Let's go find them. I think we're pretty close, their ship can't be more than 150 meters or so from us."

They suited up in the environmental suits that Anisa had provided them and donned their survival packs. Thrawn cut a length of rope and tied it around their waists so they wouldn't get separated in the blinding snow and showed her how to adjust the temperature controls of her suit. Before he lowered the helmet over her head, he kissed her lightly. "Have I told you recently that you are the most exceptional woman I have ever met?" he asked as he snapped the helmet into place and donned his own.

She smiled at him. "Not in the last week. Now, let's go find the ship."

The boarding ramp had barely opened halfway before the snow began swirling through the air, blinding them. Chiara led Thrawn down the ramp, one hand held out in front of her face to make sure she didn't run into anything. When they got to the bottom, she paused to press the control to retract the ramp so that they didn't come back to a ship full of snow as Thrawn looked around. She was about to take a step forward when he put out an arm to stop her.

"Chiara, when you said they were within 150 meters, which direction did you mean?" Thrawn asked, his voice coming through her helmet mic.

"They're that way," Chiara said, pointing ahead of them and to the left.

"That's fine, but look down," Thrawn told her. "You didn't pick a very good place to land."

Chiara dropped to one knee so she could peer at the ground. She couldn't see anything but a blinding swirl of snow. Frowning, she put out a hand and discovered there was nothing but empty air before her. They were standing on the edge of a narrow ledge that jutted out from the cliff face.

"Oops. Well, I guess we get to find a way down, first. It's probably a good thing that Anisi packed some rope and harnesses for us," Chiara said, unslinging her survival pack and rummaging for the necessary items.

"You can't seriously be thinking of climbing down in this weather," Thrawn objected. "Between the wind and occasional falling ice, we'll never make it to the bottom alive."

"Not unless we have to, but it's always better to be prepared. You might want to put your harness on while we still have the ship to use as a windblock. It's only going to be harder once we get out into the open," she told him.

Reluctantly, he found the harness in his pack and slipped it on. They followed the ledge around to where it joined the cliff face, battling against the wind that threatened to sweep them out into open air. Hugging the cliff face provided them with a small amount of shelter from the gusts, but their going was still slow. Thankfully, they found that the ice shelf sloped gradually downward towards the ground.

After about thirty minutes of trudging through the knee-deep snow, the ledge came to an abrupt end. Chiara and Thrawn stood close together, looking at the ragged edge of the ice in dismay.

"It looks to me like an ice boulder took out this section," Thrawn commented.

"Yes. I wish the visibility was a little better so we could see if maybe we could jump across. I don't particularly want to try it when I can't even see meter in from of my face, though. I suggest we climb."

Reluctantly, Thrawn agreed. "I don't see how else we can get down. That also poses a problem for us getting back up, though," he pointed out.

"I'll just have to climb back up and then pull you guys up in a harness," Chiara said with a shrug. "I've done it before, though not on an ice cliff or in this bad of a storm."

Thrawn shook his head at her as he drove a spike into the ice and fastened one end of his rope to it. "Reckless." He untied the shorter length of rope from her waist and replaced it with a longer piece. "I'll go first. When I get down a short ways, I will place another spike and tug on your rope. When you feel that, pull this spike out and follow me down."

It was painstakingly slow progress, but eventually, they made it down the cliff face. Chiara slipped once and bounced painfully against the sheer wall of ice several times before jerking to a halt at the end off her rope, but at least the spike Thrawn had driven into the ice held, bringing her fall to a premature halt. Her fingers ached from clinging to the small fissures in the ice by the time they reached the bottom and her shoulder muscles felt like they were on fire. She wasn't looking forward to trying to climb back up, later.

They paused to stow their harnesses and rope back in their packs and Thrawn attached the shorter rope to Chiara's waist, again. She hadn't thought it was possible for the visibility to get any worse, but down here the snow was falling so thickly and whipping around them with such force that she could barely see her hand when she held it in front of the faceplate of her helmet. It was disorienting and she almost felt as if she was floating through the storm.

"How do you intend to find them in this mess, or for us to get back here?" Thrawn's voice came over the speaker built into her helmet. "I can't see anything."

"A Jedi doesn't need their eyes to see," she reminded him. "As long as can sense them, I can find them. And I have excellent recall, I'll be able to get us back here."

"I certainly hope so. It's uncomfortable cold in these suits as it is. Dying from exposure when they run out of power isn't exactly how I want to go," Thrawn told her.

"Neither do I," she agreed, shivering in her suit. He was right, she had the heat turned all the way up, but she was chilled to the bone. "Let's get going."

The terrain was surprisingly rough, with huge boulders of ice scattered around and drifts that were higher than Chiara's head. _No wonder I didn't land down here_, she thought. The ice was treacherously slippery beneath their feet and she and Thrawn lost their footing and fell more than once as a blast of wind knocked them off their feet. They hadn't gotten far when there was a deafening _crack!_ from somewhere behind them. A few stray pieces of ice bounced off Chiara's helmet. She glanced towards where she knew Thrawn walked beside her on the right. "That didn't sound good. I don't think we want to linger around these cliffs."

They slipped and slid among the dangerous footing for almost two hours and were forced to double back twice when they encountered several large outcroppings of ice that were twisted and deformed by the wind until they looked like grotesque creatures that had been frozen in the midst of their death throes. The drifts of snow were so deep on either side that they couldn't force their way through and had to go back to find another way around. Trudging through the knee-deep snow was incredibly wearing.

It came as a relief when they finally left the boulder-strewn plain behind them and found themselves in an open space. Although the footing was easier, with nothing to shield them from its raw force, the wind here redoubled, nearly driving them to their knees as it hammered relentlessly at them. Wordlessly, Thrawn and Chiara struggled on, bent nearly double inexorable force of the wind.

She could sense that the presences were getting stronger, but she didn't realize just how close they were until she walked into something solid in the swirling snow. Reeling a bit, she put out a hand to stop Thrawn beside her. "I think we found them," she told him.

Chiara put out a gloved hand into the blanket of white in front of her and found something solid. She could sense Thrawn doing the same thing, just off to her right. "It is a ship," he confirmed.

They carefully worked their way around the large shuttle, trying to find the boarding ramp. The snow had drifted around and over it, completely covering one side. They found several ragged tears in the hull from where the ship had apparently struck one of the outcroppings of ice on its way down, and the rear half of the ship was badly crumpled from the impact of the landing.

"There's no way in," Thrawn told her as they pressed their helmets up to the hull to try and examine the damage. "The boarding ramp was here, but it will never open with all this damage. We should have brought the equipment to cut our way in."

"We could never have carried the additional weight," she pointed out, considering. "I assume there is a viewport on the bridge?"

"Yes, why?"

"Let's find it. If we can get to it, I should be able to cut through with my lightsaber," she told him.

They trudged around to the front of the ship, hugging the side both in an attempt not to lose the ship in the blinding snow and also to gain what little protection they could from the wind. When they reached the front of the ship, Thrawn boosted Chiara up onto the nose. She scraped the snow away from the viewport with her hands and tried to peer inside, but the cockpit was too dark for her to be able to see anything. The telltale _snap-hiss_ of her lightsaber was completely muffled by the storm that raged around her as she drew and ignited the weapon. Carefully, she plunged the tip into the transparisteel, mindful of the delicate equipment that would be positioned just below it. The transparisteel fell inward as she finished her cut and shut the lightsaber down.

Chiara slipped through the opening and into the darkened cockpit. "Okay," she said into her helmet mic, "I'm in. Let's get you up here."

Bracing herself against the pilot's chair, she started hauling the rope attached to her waist hand-over-hand. Even using the Force to help her, her muscles screamed in protest as Thrawn's weight jerked and pulled at the end of the rope as the wind bounced him around outside. She felt the weight lessen as he reached the nose of the ship and pulled himself up. A moment later, he dropped through the opening in the transparisteel beside her.

"We should do something to seal the hole," he told her, looking down at the snow that was already beginning to drift around their boots. He rummaged through his pack and pulled out one of the survival blankets, as well as a tube of synthflesh from the medical kit. With Chiara's help, he put a thin line of the synthflesh around the outside of the blanket and then pressed it to the transparisteel. When they let it go, the blanket bowed inwards slightly from the wind, but the adhesiveness of the synthflesh held it in place around the edges.

Chiara popped her helmet off and looked around, grateful to finally be able to see more than a few inches in front of her nose again. "Let's see where they are," she murmured.

"Wait," Thrawn said, catching her hand and taking off his own helmet. "I owe you an apology. I didn't think you could actually find them."

"Save it for when we are all safely back in Csaplar; this isn't over yet," she reminded him.


	18. Chapter 17

AN: Thank you for the review, Guest! I was just beginning to worry that maybe people weren't enjoying this story. I appreciate your feedback. :)

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Chiara breathed a sigh of relief as warm air from the passenger compartment kissed her face as the door slid open. Even with the emergency blanket sealing the hole in the viewport, the temperature in the cockpit was dropping rapidly. Her ears were beginning to go numb from the cold.

"Mitth'saml'inas?" Thrawn called as they went in and the door slid shut behind them.

Chiara caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of her eye and turned to see a young Chiss girl staring at her with wide eyes. Realizing that the girl had probably never seen an offworlder before, she nudged Thrawn and nodded towards the girl.

"Hello," Thrawn greeted her. "Where is your mother and brother?"

"Have you come to rescue us? Mother said no one would come until the storm stops. She's in the sleeping room with Thixian. He was hurt in the crash," the little girl told them.

"I see. I am Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo and this is Chiara," he said, gesturing to her. "What is your name?"

The girl seemed to draw herself up proudly. "I am Mitth'srak'inaska," she told them gravely. Her eyes flicked back to Chiara. "What is she?"

"She is the one who found you," Thrawn told her, a subtle hint of annoyance in his voice. "Now, please, take me to your mother."

The girl gave Chiara one more appraising look, then lead the way to another door at the back of the shuttle. "Mother, a rescue party is here," she announced as the door slid open. A middle-aged Chiss woman looked up in surprise from where she sat next to the bunk that held a very young boy who was either sleeping or unconscious. "This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo," the girl continued, indicating Thrawn, "And the alien is called Chiara."

"Mitth'saml'inas, are you hurt?" Thrawn asked, stepping forward.

"No. I didn't expect to see a rescue mission so soon. How could you have possibly found us in the midst of this storm?" she asked.

"Chiara has skills and abilities beyond those of the Chiss. She was able to locate you without the help of sensors and she also is the one who flew us safely through the storm," Thrawn told her. Chiara hid a smile at the subtle note of pride in his voice.

"I see. This is the alien that has caused so much uproar in the Family, then." It was more of a statement than a question.

"She is," Thrawn confirmed. "I regret that you could not be more properly introduced to her at the gala, last week. Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik honored her with the first dance."

Although she kept her expression carefully neutral, Chiara could feel Mitth'saml'inas's surprise at that news. "I see," she said coolly. The young child on the bed stirred and moaned. Mitthh'saml'inas murmured soothingly to him and stroked his short, blue-black hair.

"What happened?" Thrawn asked.

"He decided to get out of his seat just before we went down," she said tightly. "He hit his head and I suspect he has a concussion. He most likely broke at least one rib, as well; he's been in a great deal of pain."

"I can ease his pain, if you will permit me," Chiara offered. Mitth'siml'inas eyed her uncertainly.

"It is perfectly safe," Thrawn assured her. "She's done it to me on several occasions."

Mitth'siml'inas hesitated for another moment, then gave a curt nod. Chiara stepped over to the bed and looked down at the young boy. He couldn't have been more than two or three years old. She put a hand over the child's ribcage and closed her eyes in concentration. Stretching out in the Force, she brushed his consciousness, suppressing the pain receptors in his nervous system. The boy sighed in his sleep and his breathing evened out a bit. When she opened her eyes, he looked like he was resting more comfortably.

"Thank you," Mitth'siml'inas said stiffly and then turned to Thrawn. "I take it that you have a ship nearby?"

"We do. It's a little less than one _visvia _from here. The going is quite rough, though, and I think we should wait until morning to avoid getting caught out after nightfall."

"The visibility in this storm is so poor that I don't see what difference it will make if it is light out or not," Mitth'siml'inas sniffed.

"I'm more concerned about the drop in temperature and the nocturnal predators," Thrawn told her.

"I suppose you have a point," she said grudgingly. "Very well. We will start at first light. One of you will have to carry Mitth'ixia'nith; he can't possibly walk in this storm or in his condition."

Chiara exchanged a meaningful glance with Thrawn. She could tell he was just as annoyed by Mitth'siml'inas's tone as she was, though he hiding it. "I suppose we can rig a carrier out of one of the harnesses," she suggested.

"Yes. And we probably should go see if we can patch the viewport a little better or it will get very cold in here," Thrawn told her. She followed him back to cockpit, where they examined Chiara's handiwork.

"I should have beveled the edges to help it stay in place when we put it back," Chiara observed, trying to ignore the biting cold that nipped at her nose and ears without her helmet.

"I suspect you would have a hard time maintaining enough control to levitate it back into place in this storm," Thrawn pointed out.

"True. Well, what do you think? How do we seal this with the limited resources that we have available?"

Thrawn studied the viewport and the emergency blanket that was currently holding the snow at bay. "I think we have already achieved the optimum solution, given the tools that we have on hand. There is no way for us to make the transparisteel stay in place, even if you could hold it steady enough to put it back in the hole."

Chiara leaned against the console. "You're probably right. Can we just stay here for a few minutes and pretend we are fixing it?"

"You're already put off by Mitth'saml'inas, aren't you?" Thrawn asked.

"We risked our lives and came all the way out here to rescue her. It wouldn't kill her to show a little more gratitude and a little less entitlement. Just because she's the Aristocra's mate doesn't mean she automatically knows what to do in a storm like this and should be ordering you around."

Thrawn smiled at her. "You don't need to be defensive for my sake. A person of her status is accustomed to giving orders to everyone and having those orders followed without question, just as I am accustomed to taking orders."

"And what if she gives you bad orders?" Chiara asked.

Thrawn's mouth compressed into a thin line. "She is the mate of an Aristocra, not an Aristocra herself. I am not bound to follow her orders, although it is generally best to do so. Please remember that her opinion influences that of the Aristocra. We do not want to make her angry with us, if we can avoid it, so try not to let her get under your skin. Now, I don't know about you, but I am getting rather cold."

Chiara sighed. "Alright. Come here before we go back in there to face her, though."

Thrawn cocked one eyebrow at her and complied with the request. Chiara straightened up and kissed him with cold lips. Her fingertips skimmed his jawline and she wrapped one around his neck. He put his arms around her, pulling her body flush against his as he returned her kiss with equal passion. They were both a bit breathless when they broke off.

"Was there any particular reason for that?" Thrawn asked, his glowing eyes glittering as he tracing a gloved finger over her cheek.

She shrugged in reply, a hint of mischief dancing in her blue eyes. "I figured you probably didn't want me kissing you in front of the Aristocra's family, so I thought I should get in my goodnight kiss now."

"What I want and what propriety allows aren't always the same thing," he told her, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "Now, we probably should be going back in. Your lips are starting to turn blue, which I suspect is not a good sign. Besides, I've just started getting used to the pink color."

Chiara laughed. "Yes, it's not a good thing when I start turning blue. If I ever start looking like you, you had better stick me somewhere warm in a hurry to thaw me back out."

They slipped back into the passenger compartment and Thrawn sealed the door behind them. "Can you cut through an emergency bulkhead?" he asked her. "It will stay warmer in here if I trigger it to close, but I don't want to trap us in here if I can't open it in the morning."

She nodded. "I've cut through blast doors, before, so an emergency bulkhead shouldn't be a problem. It will just take some time."

Thrawn opened an access panel beside the door and began pulling out some of the wires. With a jerk, he yanked two of them free from where they connected to the life support sensors and touched the bare ends together. There was a small spark and then the bulkhead rumbled down, sealing them off from the outside.

Chiara was slipping out of her environmental suit when Mitth'srak'inaska reappeared. She perched on the table near Chiara and stared at her. "Why are you such an odd color and where did you come from?" She demanded.

Chiara suppressed a chuckle as she stepped out of the suit. "Where I come from, this is a normal skin color," she told the girl. "And I'm from the Galactic Republic, which is a very long way from here." She carefully folded the suit and put it back in her pack.

Just then, the door to the sleeping quarters came out and Mitth'saml'inas came out, carrying a sleepy looking Mitth'ixia'nith. "Thsraki, get down from there," she scolded. "We may be lost in the middle of a blizzard, but that is no excuse to forget your manners."

Chiara saw Thrawn's mouth twitch in amusement as he stowed his environmental suit and set his pack next to hers. "How is Mitth'ixia'nith doing?" she asked, sinking wearily down onto the bench beside the table.

"The pain seems to be much better," Mitth'saml'inas told her as the boy squirmed in her arms.

"I want down!" he demanded in a clear, high voice, prying at his mother's fingers. She gave in and set him down on the floor. He promptly ran over to stare up at Thrawn, then climbed up onto the bench next to Chiara and began prodding her with his little fingers.

"You look funny," he told her, reaching up to tug on one of her ears.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, trying to disengage his fingers from the delicate point of her ear.

"Mitth'ixia'nith, leave her alone!" his mother exclaimed.

The child shook his head defiantly and threw his arms around Chiara. "She's mine!"

Chiara froze and glanced at Thrawn, not knowing what to do. The rather unhelpful expression on his face made it clear that he found the situation amusing. She shot him a glare and tried once again to disentangle herself from the child's grip. After a few tries, she gave up and tried to ignore the child climbing over her. "I assume you have environmental suits that will fit the children?" she asked, wincing as Mitth'ixia'nith stepped on her hand as he tried to climb up on the table to get a better look at her face.

"Yes, they were both fitted for new suits just before we left Csilla." Mitth'saml'inas told her.

"Good. I think I will see about making a harness for us to carry Mitth'ixia'nith in," Chiara said, standing up. In reality, she just wanted to get away from his prodding fingers, which were currently poking at her face, as if he thought that he could uncover what he perceived to be the normal color of skin by poking her enough. The child followed her as she went over to the packs and began sorting through the harnesses and ropes they had brought.

"I think you have a new friend," Thrawn told her quietly in a tone that betrayed his amusement as he moved to help her. Chiara gave him an exasperated look as the child attached himself to her leg and tried her best to work on the harness in spite of him using her as a living jungle gym. _Maybe I should go a little easier on the pain suppression, next time_, she thought to herself. _Just so he doesn't hurt himself more with these antics_, she added as an afterthought, almost as if she was trying to justify it to herself.

* * *

Chiara spent most of the evening in meditation, trying to clear her mind and prepare for the taxing day that she knew lay ahead of them, tomorrow. The mental fatigue of the search was slow to recede, but she found new strength in the Force, as always. She would need to be at her best, tomorrow, she knew; the dangers of traveling in the blizzard would be amplified by presence of the children and of Mitth'saml'inas. Thrawn assured Chiara that even one of her standing was able to be hardy and practical, when necessary, and that the Chiss woman would be competent enough to not be a further burden on them. Chiara hoped that he was right.

It came as somewhat of a relief when Mitth'saml'inas suggested they retire early for the evening to rest against the challenges that lay ahead of them. She had to rein in her annoyance, though, when the Chiss didn't offer them a place in the sleeping compartment. _The kids could easily share one bed and then Thrawn and I could have the other bunk_, Chiara groused to herself as she and Thrawn spread their blankets on the hard decking of the commons area. Still, she had slept in worse places before and at least the deck didn't have any rocks or other bumps poking into her back. Thrawn carefully tucked the emergency blanket around her shoulders as she yawned and snuggled against his side.

"Have I told you lately that you are an incredible woman?" he asked, kissing her forehead in the semi-darkness. "You give of yourself with no thought to your own political gain and with no concern for the risks to yourself. If all Jedi are like you, the impact you have on your Replubic must be great, indeed."

"I didn't do this without consideration for political gain, Thrawn," she reminded him. "When we get them back, the Aristocra will be forever in our debt for rescuing his family."

"There is political gain to be had here," Thrawn agreed. "But don't pretend you are doing it for your own gain. I know that you are doing this because you believe it will help my standing with the Ruling Families. Although this will impact you, as well, that isn't your primary reason for doing this."

Chiara examined his profile in the faint light of the glowpanels on their lowest setting. "This is what lifemates are supposed to do, Thrawn. Put each other first and help each other achieve their goals. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you still get your chance at High Command."

She felt his arms tighten around her. "I know. Just promise me that you won't put yourself in a situation where you risk sacrificing yourself for my gain. I don't regret choosing you over High Command for a single moment. Don't put that choice in jeopardy by risking your life."

"I won't," she promised.

"Good. Now, to go sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The next morning, Chiara shivered a bit as she woke next to Thrawn. They were laying together on the hard decking of the passenger compartment, wrapped in the emergency blankets they had brought. A chill had crept into the ship overnight, leaving a light frost on most of the surfaces and she could see her breath in the air. Thrawn stirred and opened his eyes as she snuggled closer to his side, drawn to his warmth.

"Is it me, or is getting really cold in here?" Chiara asked, teeth chattering.

Thrawn chafed her arms gently, trying to warm her. "The life support seems to be failing; it must have been damaged in the crash. I'll get our environmental suits, you stay here and keep warm."

"There's no need for either of us to get cold," she told him. Reaching out with the Force, she picked up one of their packs and sent it floating across the room to Thrawn's waiting hand. Her survival pack followed it. They both did their best to wriggle into their suits without letting any of the warm air escape from between their blankets. Chiara sighed gratefully as she flicked on the power to her suit's warmer and felt the heat radiate across her body.

Thankfully, the more compact sleeping quarters had done a better job of retaining warmth and there was only a mild chill in the air, although Mitth'saml'inas complained about it quite loudly. Chiara just rolled her eyes when and helped the children don their environmental suits, since Mitth'saml'inas clearly expected her to do the work. She sat down with the children to a light breakfast while Thrawn and Chiara gathered a few more supplies and redistributed the equipment between their survival packs.

Chiara ate her breakfast standing, feeling an odd sense of urgency that they needed to start as quickly as possible. Thrawn seemed to pick up on her impatience and started helping the children don their helmets and adjust their suits to maximum warmth. By the time she had finished eating the protein bar she had selected and washed it down with the last of the _vikn_ that Anisi had sent them, he had started working to open the emergency bulkhead.

Chiara unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and tapped him on the shoulder. "May I cut in?"

"Be my guest," Thrawn said, stepping aside.

The hum of her lightsaber was strangely muted as she plunged it into the door up to the hilt. The vacuum-tight bulkhead was thick enough that it took her several minutes to cut through it. Finally, it fell into the cockpit with a dull _thud_.

"Let Thrawn and I get the cockpit unsealed before you follow us in," Chiara told Mitth'saml'inas. "Please," she hastened to add, sensing the flicker of annoyance from the woman. _This is going to be loads of fun_, Chiara thought sourly. She switched her helmet commlink over to a private frequency so she could talk to Thrawn only as they stepped into the cockpit. "I am not going to spend the rest of the day worrying about Mitth'saml'inas's delicate sensibilities while we traipse through the storm, Thrawn," she warned him. "It's going to take all my effort just to get us back to the ship."

"I know," Thrawn murmured as he started working the emergency blanket loose from where they had affixed it over the hole in the viewport. "Let me handle her. You concentrate on what you need to do."

The wind howled like a wounded beast through the opening in the viewport and sent snow swirling around them as Thrawn finished peeling the emergency blanket off and stowed it in his survival pack. He switched his commlink back to the main frequency. "Come in, please, Mitth'saml'inas."

The Chiss came in, her children trailing behind her, and peered out of the viewport. "How do you intend for us to get down?" she demanded.

"It's not far to the ground. Chiara can lower you to the ground with a rope. I'll go down first so I can help to guide you down," Thrawn told her. Chiara could sense Mitth'saml'inas's disapproval at this arrangement, but at least she didn't voice any objections.

Thrawn hand Chiara the end of one of the ropes and disappeared out the viewport with the other end. He slid down the nose of the shuttle and dropped into the waist deep snow below.

Chiara fastened the middle of the rope under Mitth'saml'inas's arms and helped her climb out the viewport. "Once you are down, stay still until Thrawn gets a rope around you, please. The visibility is bad enough that it will be easy for us to get separated and we will probably never find each other again, if that happens. If we tie ourselves together, at least we can't stray far from each other." The other woman nodded, her brow knit with concern. "Alright, Thrawn, she's coming down," Chiara told him as she started letting the rope out through her hands. She could feel Thrawn take up some tension on the other side of the rope to help hold Mitth'saml'inas steady as the wind tried to dash her against the hull of the ship on the way to the ground.

"I have her," Thrawn said after a moment. Chiara could feel the weight on her rope lessen as Mitth'saml'inas reached the ground.

Chiara pulled the rope back up and turned to Mitth'srak'inaska. "It's your turn, next." The girl was far easier to let down than her mother. Once Thrawn confirmed that he had her, she tossed down her end of the rope and turned to Mitth'ixia'nith. "Now for us." She scooped him up in her arms and held him against her chest as she leaped through the opening in the viewport. The driving snow had left the nose of the shuttle slick with ice and her feet slipped out from under her. She landed painfully on her tailbone and slid down the nose of the shuttle, dropping into the deep drifts of snow below. Once down, she reached out with the Force to locate Thrawn and the others. They were only a meter or so to her left, but the snow was still falling so thickly that she couldn't see them at all.

Thrawn fastened one end of the rope around her waist when she found him and touched his arm, then dug the makeshift harness out of his pack. "I'll take the boy," he offered, fitting the harness around the little boy's legs.

Chiara shook her head. "The Force gives me more endurance that you, I'll take him."

"Are you certain?" Thrawn asked. "You have enough to contend with, simply guiding us back."

"It's fine. Just see if you can help me get him in place, I can't see a thing in this mess."

Thrawn helped her slip the harness around her shoulders and settle the boy comfortably on her back and then they set out. If it the going had been difficult for her and Thrawn on the way there, it was doubly hard for Mitth'saml'inas and Mitth'srak'inaska. Although the young girl never complained, Thrawn had carry her at several points when the snow drifts reached past her waist. It took them nearly five hours to reach the foot of the cliff and the children were beginning to complain that they were tired, cold and hungry.

Chiara stifled a sigh of relief as Thrawn took Mitth'ixia'nith from her and handed the boy to his mother. She could sense Mitth'saml'inas's indignance at being given responsibility for the boy. "Ignore it," Thrawn murmured to her in Basic as he dug through his pack and found the climbing gear. He passed the ice pick and anchoring spike to her as she contemplated the sheer white wall of ice before her. "Are you sure you don't want me to go first?"

"I'm the most logical choice. If I fall, I can control my landing much better than you can, hopefully enough to avoid getting hurt. And I have plenty of climbing experience, we used to do this at the Temple for fun when we were children," she told him.

She could hear Thrawn's unvoiced sigh as he untied the guide rope from around her waist and switched her commlink over to their private frequency so she wouldn't be distracted by the incessant chatter of the others. He tied one of the longer ropes to her pack so it would be out of the way, but available when she got to the top to help pull the others up safely. "Be careful," he admonished her as he boosted her up. She sank her ice pick into the ice and pulled herself up, the fingers of her other hand searching for a hold. The going was slow, especially since she had to stop to place anchor spikes several times in case she were to fall, but she eventually reached the top.

"I'm up," Chiara said into the helmet mic of her suit, pulling herself up onto the narrow ledge. She lay there for a moment, resting her aching muscles and trying to massage the cramps out of her hands from clinging to the miniscule handholds she had been able to find in the sheer cliff face. After a moment, she forced herself to move against the sheer inertia of the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm her annd drove one of the anchoring spikes into the icy face of the cliff and then fed her rope through it. "Are you ready?" she asked, giving the spike a good tug to make sure it would hold.

"Ready," Thrawn's voice came back. Setting her teeth and drawing on the Force for strength, Chiara began hauling the rope up, hand-over-hand. By the time Mitth'siml'anis's helmet appeared over the edge of the shelf, Chiara's muscles were already screaming in protest. _I haven't done anything so physical in a very long time,_ Chiara thought.

"This is a very narrow ledge," Chiara warned Mitth'siml'anis as she helped her unbuckle the harness and let the rope back for Thrawn to attach to the next passenger. "I would suggest sitting down with your back to the cliff face and not moving too much. A strong guest of wind could knock you off this shelf, if you aren't careful."

To her relief, the other woman seemed too tired to argue and simply sank to the ground a few feet behind Chiara. She turned her attention back to the job at hand. "Are you ready with the next one?" Chiara asked.

"Go ahead," Thrawn answered. Judging by the weight on the rope, Chiara guessed that the next passenger Thrawn had sent up was Mitth'srak'inaska. It didn't take nearly as long for her to pull the girl up. Once she had gotten her settled beside her mother, she drew up the boy. Even though he weighed a fraction of what his mother or sister did, Chiara could still feel her muscles trembling with fatigue by the time he was safely on the ledge and given into the care of his mother. She let the rope down one last time, feeling grateful that Thrawn would be able to climb up with little assistance from her.

Indeed, it was easier with Thrawn on the other end of the rope. She helped him support his weight a bit in a few places, but he was making good progress on his own when a sudden, strong gust of wind snatched away his precarious grip and threw him out into the open air. His full weight came down on the rope abruptly, wrenching Chiara's shoulders painfully as she fought to hold on. She could feel a shiver up the rope as he slammed into the ice wall. "Thrawn! Are you okay?" she called into her helmet mic.

"I am alright," Thrawn's voice came back after a long moment. "Just a bit stunned. I-" his voice cut off with a grunt and Chiara felt another quiver go through the rope as the wind buffeted him into the unyielding cliff face again. Gritting her teeth, she hauled him upwards, inch by inch, ignoring the agonizing burn of her shoulder and back muscles as she strained to lift Thrawn to safety. "Chiara, don't-" he gasped.

"Just try not to hit the wall again," she said, cutting him off. The next blast of arctic fury shook the ledge they stood on, but she could feel less of the impact through the rope as Thrawn pushed back against the icy wall, slowing his motion a bit before he struck. It took her several agonizing moments to haul him the rest of the way up and she breathed a sigh of relief as his head finally poked above the ice shelf. He threw his arms over the ledge and pulled himself the rest of the way up. "Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling beside him as he lay on the ice for a moment.

"I believe so. Nothing seems to be broken, though I imagine I will have some very impressive bruises."

Chiara helped him up and lead the way to where Mitth'saml'inas sat huddled against the way with the children, using the Force to locate them in the blinding snow. She tied the guide rope around them all again and they set out across the shelf, hugging the wall to avoid being blown into empty air by the winds that assailed them. It didn't take them long to reach the corner that Chiara remembered being just before the wider ledge where they had left the ship. Looking forward to getting into the welcoming warmth of the ship, Chiara hurried forward- and stopped in her tracks as a warning bell from the Force went off in her head. Thrawn blundered into her from behind, unable to see her in the poor visibility. "Stop," he ordered Mitth'saml'inas and her family, putting his arms around Chiara to help her regain balance. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure, but something is wrong," She told him. She stretched out with the Force, trying to find the source of danger. "There aren't any other life forms up here, so it's not a predator." They were less than 25 meters from the ship and she couldn't understand what could possible be triggering her danger sense up here. She cautiously edged forward, every sense alert. Instead of putting her foot onto solid ice, there was nothing but air in front of her. She jerked her foot back to solid ground and dropped to one knee, searching with her hands in the blinding snow. There was nothing there. Her heart fell.

"Thrawn, we have a problem," she told him.

The ice shelf and the ship that had been sitting on it were gone.


	20. Chapter 19

AN: There's going to be a bit of a delay before any more chapters get posted - I will be camping with my family this weekend (see how excited I am? :-\ ) and won't have internet access until Monday. I guess you guys gets a cliffhanger until then! I'd love to come home to some new reviews.

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**Chapter 19**

"What's wrong?" Thrawn asked, moving to stand beside her.

Chiara threw out a hand to stop him. "It's the shelf. It's gone," she told him numbly.

Thrawn swore and dropped to his knees in the snow beside her, groping through the empty air. "The ship..."

She nodded. "It's gone," she confirmed hoarsely.

"What?!" Mitth'saml'inas demanded, coming up behind them. "What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"The shelf broke. It was thick enough to hold the weight of the ship, so I suspect a boulder must have been dislodged by the wind and fallen. If it was large enough, it could have broken through the ice easily," Thrawn said.

"And what do you plan to do now?" she pressed.

"I don't know," Thrawn said wearily.

Chiara groped blindly through the mass of swirling white snow until she found his hand. _What have I done? _she thought bleakly. _Have I brought him out here to die? _He gripped her hand tightly in return. _There has to be another way. _"Thrawn, you were looking at the map while we were flying. Do you remember how far we are from the city?"

Thrawn saw where she was going with this line of thought immediately. "We are approximately 20 _ visvia_ from closest surface entrance," he told her. "It would take us at least four days to cover the distance in these conditions, maybe longer."

"But it is possible?"

Thrawn hesitated. "It's possible, yes, but it won't be easy. It's not likely that all of us would survive that long. Still, it's better than sitting here and waiting for our suits to run out of power. It would be very easy for us to go off course and miss the city entirely, though," he pointed out.

"I saw Anisi pack a compass," she told him. "That will keep us relatively on course until we get close enough for me to sense the people in the city. I can take us in the rest of the way, once we get that far."

"There are quite a ways below the surface. Will you still be able to sense them at such a distance?"

"The population is dense enough that I think it should still work," she told him. "If you have ay better ideas, I'm open to suggestions."

"We could return to my ship," Mitth'saml'inas suggested. "That would be preferable to stumbling around in this storm."

"Only until our suits run out of power and we all freeze to death," Thrawn said pointedly. "Or had you forgotten that the ship's life support has failed?"

"And you can't fix it?" she demanded.

"I'm a military commander," Thrawn told her evenly. "Not a mechanic. Even i I could repair it, it would only delay the end. This storm isn't likely to end for some weeks."

"And you are certain your ship is gone? Perhaps just part of the shelf broke," Mitth'saml'inas said plaintively.

"It's gone," Chiara told her.

The Chiss woman sighed resignedly. "Then I suppose we have no choice but to attempt the journey on foot."

Thrawn helped Chiara lower Mitth'saml'inas and her children back down from the ledge. As Chiara sat down on the edge and prepared to start her downward climb, Thrawn switched over to a private comm frequency.

"Chiara, where are you? I can't see anything in this mess."

"I'm here," she told him, getting back to her feet and using the Force to find him again so she could take his hand. He pulled her into his arms and pressed the faceplate of his helmet against hers so he could see her.

"This is not your fault," he told her emphatically. "You couldn't have known this would happen and I chose to come. Don't waste your energy on feeling responsible for this." After endless hours of staring at the monotonous white snow, it was both comforting and startling to look into his glowing eyes. "And don't tell me that you don't feel guilty. I know you too well to believe that," he added.

Chiara opened her mouth to respond, but the words caught in her throat. She closed her mouth instead and put her arms around him, holding him tightly and wishing that she could protect him from the terrible journey ahead of them. "You wouldn't be out here if it weren't for me. Why do I always have to be so stubborn? Now we are both in danger."

"I've never told you this, but I love your willfulness and your stubborn streak," he said with a smile. "Don't give up hope. There is a small chance that we could make it through this. If we don't..." he shrugged. "At least I will die here with you."

"Don't say that," she told him, distressed.

He put one hand on her helmet so that his hand hovered above her cheek. "I'm sorry. But you should know that if it does come to that, I won't regret my choice to be with you, nor would I trade a single moment we have spent together for anything else."

"I love you," she said simply, not knowing how else to respond.

"I love you," he told her tenderly. They stood there for a moment, raging storm and terrible danger forgotten, just looking into each others eyes. Finally, Thrawn broke their silence. "We probably should head down before Mitth'saml'inas starts to wonder where we are."

The wind had died down a bit and they made descent without any complications. Once they reached the ground and located Mitthsaml'inas and her children, Thrawn tied the rope around their waists again and helped Chiara strap Mitth'ixia'nith's harness to her back, again. She winced as the boy pounded happily on her helmet and reached around to still his hands. "Okay, buddy, I get the point. We'll get going in just a minute."

"I thought we were going in your ship," Mitth'srak'inaska objected.

"There's been a slight change of plans," Chiara told her, forcing a cheerful tone. "Our ship had a little accident and I suspect it is now in even worse shape than yours is. We're going to walk back to the city, instead."

Even though she couldn't see her through the snow, Chiara could feel the girl's eyes staring in her direction. "You don't have to pretend that this isn't dangerous," she informed Chiara. "I know moving on surface is hazardous even during good weather. Being up here in a storm like this is nothing short of a death wish. We're not going to make it back to the city, are we?"

Chiara dropped to one knee in the snow and reached out for the girl, finding her hand in the milky murk. "It's not ideal, Mitth'srak'inaska, I won't hide that from you. But we can do this, if we work together."

Mitth'srak'inaska seemed to consider this for a moment. "Do you promise?"

"I promise you that I will do everything in my power to see you and your family safely back home," Chiara told her.

They trudged through the blinding snow for several hours, keeping the cliff on their right and stopping frequently to check the compass that Thrawn had retrieved from pack. The cliff at least provided them some shelter from the wind. Thrawn had to carry Mitth'srak'inaska on his back frequently when they encountered snow drifts that came nearly up to the girl's chest. At least the girl was old enough to cling to him without assistance, which left his hands and arms free as they groped along blindly. When Chiara focused solely on him, she could feel a vague echo of an ache through the Force, as if she was feeling his pain from where he had been dashed against the cliff face by the wind. It was an interesting sensation and not one that she had ever experienced, before, to be able to feel someone else's pain through the Force. She wondered if it was the result of their physical intimacy or of their emotional bond. For a moment, she wished she was back on the Temple at Coruscant so she could try to research the phenomenon in the extensive library.

Finally, as the swirling snow began to darken around them and the temperatures began to drop as the sun went down, Thrawn called for a halt. "We should look for somewhere to stay the night," he told them.

Chiara unfastened the rope from around her waist and handed the end of it to Thrawn, along with Mitth'ixia'nith. "I'll go. I can find my way back to you with the Force." She slogged off through the waist-deep snow, feeling more like she was swimming in it than walking. She ran a hand along the wall of the icy cliff, hoping to find a cave or even just an overhang that would give them a bit of protection from the wind, but there was nothing. After what seemed like an eternity of searching, she gave up and went back to where the others waited. "I can't find anything," she told them. "I'm just going to cut a small shelter into the cliff for us with my lightsaber."

Carving out a niche in the ice with an energy blade wasn't quite as easy as she had thought it might be. After nearly thirty minutes of work, she had an opening that was barely a meter high and just wide enough for them all to squeeze tightly in together. Thrawn spread out the emergency blankets to provide some insulation from the cold ground and passed two of the remaining blankets to Mitth'saml'inas, while he and Chiara huddled together under one. To Chiara's everlasting surprise, Mitth'saml'inas didn't make a single complaint about their shelter or the lack of blankets, nor did she make any remark over the fact that Thrawn allowed them each only one protein bar. No one really wanted to take their helmets off and brave the frigid air for long enough to eat more than one small bar, anyway.

Before she settled in for the night, Chiara used the Force to help suppress Mitth'ixia'nith's pain again and did the same for Thrawn. Finally, exhausted both mentally and physically, Chiara curled up next to Thrawn as comfortably as she could and tried to sleep.


	21. Chapter 20

AN: Well, we nearly got blown away/flooded on the camping trip, but at least now I'm home. Would love to get some new reviews, let me know what you think of where the story is heading!

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**Chapter 20  
**

The next few days passed in a blur of swirling snow and cold. The going was slower than they had feared it might be and their food supply was already running low. Anisi had provided them with a good sized store of provisions, but none of them had ever even considered the possibility that they would have to walk back to the city. Their trek was complicated by the occasional dead ends that they encountered. Chiara had literally run into a sudden wall of ice on two separate occasions and they were forced to backtrack and try to find a way around. In the blinding snow, this was no small challenge.

By the end of the third day, Thrawn estimated that they had crossed perhaps half the distance to the city. They came upon a large cave in one of the ice cliffs and decided to take shelter for the night there. It was almost certainly the lair of some animal, but they were hoping that it wouldn't come back while the storm lasted. Chiara sank wearily onto a small ice boulder and pulled off her helmet, grateful to be out of the blinding snow. With no visual point of reference, she was beginning to feel like she was drifting through the snow, rather than walking, and it felt like she wasn't getting anywhere, even though her feet were moving. Her shoulders ached from carrying Mitth'ixia'nith. Thrawn had offered to carry the boy several times, but it didn't make any sense for him to do so when he kept having to carry Mitth'srak'inaska whenever the snow became too deep for her to wade through.

Thrawn crossed from where he had been helping Mitth'srak'inaska settle in with one of the emergency blankets wrapped around her and sat down by Chiara. She was impressed by how little the girl had complained throughout the ordeal. It came as somewhat of a relief that her mother had also seemed to recognize that this trek was difficult for all of them and had dropped all pretenses at societal hierarchy after the first day.

"How are you holding up?" Thrawn asked in Basic and offering her a protein bar. He pulled off his helmet, tore open the package of another bar and took a bite from one corner.

"I'm okay," she told him wearily, nibbling at the ration bar. "Just tired. I haven't been sleeping well."

"I know," he said, brushing a strand of hair off her forehead with a gloved hand. "It's too cold to sleep comfortably. Your slower metabolism doesn't keep you as warm, either."

Chiara didn't tell him that it was actually because she kept having horrible dreams about them dying out here. In almost every dream she'd had, Thrawn died first and almost always died violently, cursing her and the day they had met. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder as she ate, trying push the dreams out of her mind. It wasn't going to happen; she wouldn't let it. Thrawn put his arm around her and kissed her cheek, ignoring the scandalized look that Mitth'saml'inas gave them. Her face had gone numb enough since she had taken her helmet off that she couldn't really feel it, but she appreciated the gesture, anyway. "It will be alright," Thrawn murmured in her ear. He handed her half of his ration bar. "Here, finish mine. You need it more than I do."

"You need to keep up your strength, too," Chiara objected. "You carried Mitth'srak'inaska for more than half the time, today."

"I'm fine," Thrawn told her, putting his helmet back on. "You eat that."

She was tempted to argue, but her lips were starting to go numb from the cold, too. She finished her bar in two bites and ate the extra half that Thrawn had given her as quickly as she could. Thrawn pulled one of the blankets out of his pack and draped it around her shoulders while she ate. She washed down the ration bar with some of the snow they had melted earlier in the day and then slipped her helmet back on, grateful for the warmth that immediately flooded over her face.

Mitth'srak'inaska wandered over to them, blanket clutched around her shoulders, and sat down on the ground in front of Chiara. "May I see your lightsaber?" the young girl asked, an inquisitive look in her glowing eyes.

Chiara looked at her in surprise. "Why? It's not toy, it's a very sophisticated weapon."

"I know," the girl told her. "That's why I want to see it. I've studied all kinds of weapons, but I've never seen one like yours. It's fascinating."

Chiara hesitated for another moment, then unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and held it out to Mitth'srak'inaska. "Don't try to turn it on," she warned her.

Mitth'srak'inaska examined the hilt, turning it over in her hands. "So, you use it to cut through things?"

Chiara shook her head. "Normally, I use it to deflect weapons fire. It can be used for cutting through things, but I don't use it for that very often."

"Do you cut through your enemies with it?"

Chiara winced at the question. "Sometimes. I usually try to talk my way out of things before I resort to that, though."

The girl studied her for a moment, then handed back the lightsaber. "Is there anything it can't cut through?"

"There are a handful of substances it can't cut through, but they are very rare," Chiara told her, returning it to its familiar place on her belt. "I haven't seen any of them in this part of the galaxy, so far."

"I see. When we get back to Csaplar, could you show me how it works?"

Chiara smiled at the girl. "If your parents are okay with that, yes. Now go lay down and go to sleep. We have another long day ahead of us, tomorrow."

The girl crossed obediently back to her mother and crawled under the blanket she shared with her brother. Chiara watched her for a moment, then turned back to Thrawn. "I suppose we should be going to sleep, too."

"That would be wise." He helped her spread their one of their blankets out on the flattest spot they could find and put his arms around her as they lay down. She leaned back against his chest, wishing she could feel his warmth and listen to the sound of his beating heart, again. The environmental suit's helmet made her feel isolated, unable to hear anything but the screaming of the wind outside and the occasional voices of her companions over the comm. "You really are quite natural with children," Thrawn observed, breaking into her thoughts. "Have you considered that it is likely we will never be able to have any of our own?"

Chiara twisted around in his arms to look at him in surprise. "Children?"

"Yes, children. I highly doubt that our species are biologically compatible," he told her. "Although, if this is an issue for you, we could possibly adopt..."

"Thrawn, no, it's... I hadn't thought about it, to be honest, but it's not something that I have ever been concerned about. As a Jedi, I was raised with the knowledge that I would never have my own children and I'm okay with that," she assured him. "Now, if you want to have children, then that is a different story, but don't think that we need to have them just for me."

Thrawn seemed to relax a bit. "Children are not terribly compatible with a military career. At least, not if you are to stay with me - children aren't allowed at military installations. Almost every officer that has children spends most of their life separated from their mate and children. I've always thought that I wouldn't have children, either."

"I am happy with just us," she assured him, turning back over and trying to get comfortable on the uneven ground.

* * *

Chiara woke part way through the night to find Thrawn shaking her gently. "Chiara? What's wrong?" he asked her, his voice full of concern.

It took a moment for her to orient herself in the darkness. She shook her head, trying to clear the horrific image that still lingered before her eyes. "It was just a bad dream," she choked out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, pulling her gently to him and folding her in his arms. "You were saying something in your sleep that sounded upset, but I couldn't catch what it was."

She rolled over to face him, looking at the two red points of light in the darkness that she knew were his eyes. "For the last three nights, I've been dreaming about you being killed out here, although this was the most vivid one. This time, you were crushed by a falling ice boulder. The snow lifted just in time for me to see it, but there wasn't enough time for me to deflect it with the Force. You didn't die when it hit you, though," she told him, her voice crackling with strain. "I used the Force to move it aside, but your entire lower body was mangled and crushed. Your suit was torn, too. I don't know if you would have died of the cold or from your injuries, first, but neither one would have been pleasant."

If it bothered him that she had been dreaming violent deaths for him, it didn't show in his voice or sense. "That's why you haven't been sleeping, isn't it?" he asked, a hint of sudden understanding in his tone. She nodded. "Chiara, what am I going to do with you?" he said, shaking his head at her. "Stop worrying. You are just making this harder on yourself."

"I know. It's not that easy, though," she told him wearily.

"Yes, it is," he countered. "You are not responsible for my safety and well-being. I have agreed that I won't try to hold you back from participating in battles because I'm afraid of what might happen to you. Now you need to agree to stop putting pressure on yourself to personally guarantee my safety. I may not have survived 300 years on my own, but I have made it through quite a few dangerous and difficult situations without you. I think I can continue to do so without your help."

Chiara sighed. "I know you can. It's just in my nature to make it my personal responsibility. That's probably why the Council always gave me the personal protection assignments. I was always an exhausted wreck by the end, but I never lost a single person I was given to protect."

"You can't go through our lives like that, though. It will destroy you, sooner or later," Thrawn told her gently.

"You're right, as always. It's not something I'm going to be able to change overnight, but I will work on it."

"Good," he told her. "Now, go back to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Chiara woke early the next morning as the blackness outside the cave was just beginning to show signs of the sun rising somewhere above the clouds and the storm. The wind had died to a low moan sometime during the night. She shivered against the chill that her suit couldn't keep at bay as the temperatures dropped at night and stretched her cold, aching muscles. She felt Thrawn stir behind her and his arms tightened briefly around her waist as he shook off the last of his sleep. His eyes were steady on her when she rolled over to look at him.

"Did you sleep better for the rest of the night?" he asked, tucking the blanket closer around her shoulders.

"I did," she confirmed.

"Good. I suppose we probably should wake the others and get started. It sounds like the wind has died a bit, at least for now. I'd like to try to cover half the remaining ground, today," he told her.

"That sounds ambitious, but we can certainly try."

Thrawn woke Mitth'saml'inas while Chiara stowed their gear and got out their breakfast. She noticed her pack was getting quite low on ration bars and checked Thrawn's. There were only ten of the bars left, not counting the ones they would be eating for breakfast. Her eyes flicked to Thrawn as he turned and came back towards her. He shook his head warningly and raised one gloved finger to his faceplate. Chiara waited until they had both pulled of their helmets to eat before she spoke.

"Thrawn, have you counted how many rations we have left, lately?" she asked.

"Yes, I have," he said, sounding a bit worried. "That's part of why I want to try to make it as far as we can, today. We can certainly survive without food for some time, but I'm concerned about how much the lack of energy that will result will impact our progress."

She started to put her ration back in her pack, but Thrawn caught her wrist. "No, you need to eat," he told her. "You and I are the ones who are carrying burdens. If anyone isn't going to eat, it should be them." He nodded towards Mitth'saml'inas. "But I am not going to try to have that discussion with her. This has been hard enough on them as it is, and they have done remarkably well, so far."

Reluctantly, she peeled back one corner of the packet and pulled the bar out. "I'll be glad to get back to the city and have some real food," she told him. "For one thing, these remind me too much of _ch'asceluv_."

Thrawn cocked an eyebrow at her as he took a bite of his bar. "That would be because _ch'asceluv _is one of the main ingredients."

Chiara made a face. "No wonder I don't like them."

* * *

They made good time that day and covered almost as much ground as Thrawn had hoped they would. The ground smoothed out and the outcroppings of ice became less and less frequent, cutting down on the number of times that they had to backtrack and find a way around a dead end. When they finally halted for the night, Thrawn and Chiara worked together to build a small shelter out of snow under one of the upthrust walls of ice. This particular one reminded Chiara of a wave that had been frozen in place, looming over them as she and Thrawn packed snow together to form the other three walls of their shelter. It would provide them with a wind block and the overhang it provided would help to keep the falling snow from burying them during the night. Bone-weary and longing for a steaming cup of caff, Chiara crawled under the low overhang and curled up in a corner of the shelter. Thrawn pulled three ration bars from his pack and cut them in half. He stowed the extra half away and then handed out the halves to their forlorn little group.

"Why only half a ration?" Mitth'saml'inas demanded when Thrawn gave her her portion. "It has been a long day and we traveled far. We each need a full ration to keep up our strength."

"I agree," Thrawn told her. "Unfortunately, we have only ten rations left and at least another two days' journey ahead of us, assuming that the storm doesn't worsen. I believe it is better for us to stretch it by having only a half ration then it is for us to eat the last of the food and go hungry for the rest of the trek."

"You should have brought more. Clearly, you weren't adequately prepared for this," Mitth'saml'inas snapped.

Chiara opened her mouth, a biting reply on the tip of her tongue, but Thrawn stopped her with a warning glance. "No, we weren't prepared for having to walk back to the city," Thrawn answered coolly. "We were prepared for the possibility of having our ship go down while we were searching for you. If it was just Chiara and me, and we weren't expending so much energy by trying to trek through this storm, we would have had sufficient rations to ride out the storm in safety. The only reason we are running out of food is because we have been sharing with you. No one has ever successfully attempted to make it to the city on foot in a storm of this magnitude. Why should we have been prepared for this?"

Mitth'saml'inas didn't reply, but her expression made it clear that she was chewing hull fasteners. She yanked off her helmet and tore into the ration bar as if finishing it three bites would prove her point that it wasn't enough food.

"Well, I'm impressed," Chiara told Thrawn in Basic as they ate their own meager portions. "I didn't think I would live to see the day when you would stand up to her."

Thrawn just raised one eyebrow at her in the semi-darkness. "Even I have my limits," he replied mildly. "And she can hardly complain if we do get them safely back to Csaplar."

"Do you think we can still do it?" she asked, trying to ignore the cold that bit painfully at the tips of her ears. "That is, can we make it to the city, given how things have gone so far and how much food we have left?"

"As long as you are able to guide us in once we get close enough and we don't have any complications along the way, I think we actually have some chance of making it," he told her.

* * *

When they woke in the next morning, they found that the wind had died down during the night and the snow was beginning to taper. When they started off through the snow again, Chiara could vaguely see the shapes of her companions as they trudged along beside her instead of a blank all of white snow. Everyone's spirits seemed to improve with the weather and they were making good progress. Mitth'srak'inaska bounced along next to Chiara, keeping up a steady stream of chatter about her life in Csaplar and things that she thought Chiara should try before she and Thrawn left for Crustai. Mitth'ixia'nith added a few suggestions of his own in his high, childish voice. Still not sure why these two had decided that they liked her so much, Chiara slogged on through the snow, making a comment when it seemed necessary, but mostly letting the girl ramble on as she pleased.

By mid-morning, the snow had lessened until it was little more than a light flurry.

"Is the storm clearing out already?" Chiara asked Thrawn, switching over to their private comm frequency. She had to squint against the glare as the sun's rays cut through the drifting snow to reflect off the snow and ice on the ground to avoid being blinded by the light.

"No, this is only a brief reprieve," Thrawn told her, his voice grim. "I saw the predictions on the storm that our scientists made, and they said this one would have several waves. They predicted that each subsequent wave would be worse than the one before."

Chiara's eyes widened. "Worse?"

"Indeed. I had hoped we could reach the city before the next section of the storm reached us, but I would say that is not going to be possible. It will most certainly overtake us before we can get that far," he told her.

"And if we don't make it to the city in time?" she asked.

Thrawn was silent for a moment. "Then we will have to find shelter and hope that we will be able to continue on once the leading edge of the second wave passes." His tone made it clear that he didn't think it was likely they would have a chance of this actually happening, though.

Mitth'srak'inaska was still chattering away at Chiara when she switched back to the main frequency, not even noticing that Chiara had been having a different conversation. The snow here was only up to the girl's knee and she had been able to walk on her own for most of the day. Abruptly, endless stream of happy chatter turned into a shriek of pain and dismay. Chiara turned in time to see the girl fall face first into the snow. Something wrapped around the girl's slender body and began dragging her down into the snow. The rope around her waist went taught and jerked her towards the spot where Mitth'srak'inaska had disappeared into the snowbank.

"_ Nahn'rast'an'cat_!" Thrawn bit out, drawing his charric. He swore. "I can't get a clear shot, Chiara, bring it down! Mitth'saml'inas, get back." He gestured the girl's mother away from where the snow was churning with movement.

Unsure what sort of creature she was dealing with, Chiara pulled her lightsaber free of her belt and ignited it, slicing through the harness that held Mitth'ixia'nith to her back, as well as the rope that tethered her to Thrawn. She threw herself in the direction of the tugging at her waist where her rope was still attached to the girl who was still screaming into her suit's commlink. Something wrapped itself around Chiara's waist and squeezed. Her ribs cracked painfully and threatened to snap under immense pressure as she was inexorably drawn towards the snowbank. Unable to see as her head vanished beneath the snow, Chiara gave herself over to the Force, lashing out with her lightsaber at the creature that held her and Mitth'srak'inaska. The snow sizzled and spat as her lightsaber burned a path through it and the creature. Abruptly, the pressure on her ribcage lessened. Mithh'srak'inaska continued to scream as Chiara tried to dig through the snow towards her. She quickly abandoned the effort as she realized she wasn't getting anywhere. Instead, she reached out towards the girl with the Force, pushing her towards the surface.

"I've got her," Thrawn called over the commlink.

Chiara struggled against the snow that pressed in around her. Unable to free herself from the heavy weight of the snow, she once again used her levitation ability to push herself up and out of the snowbank. She lay on the snow for a moment, trying to catch her breath, before she realized the severed half of the creature was still wrapped around her waist. She pulled it free and examined it. It seemed to be the tail of some sort of an elongated reptilian creature, but that didn't make sense, as most reptiles were coldblooded and surely couldn't survive in such harsh climate.

The sound of Mitth'srak'inaska whimpering in pain brought Chiara's attention back to the situation at hand. She quickly moved over to join Thrawn and Mitth'saml'inas where they crouched over the girl.

"Can you cut her free without hurting her?" Thrawn asked, indicating the half of the creature that still wrapped around the girl's leg and most of her body.

"Of course." Chiara freed the girl with a few precision cuts that left the creatures in pieces. She knelt beside her. "What hurts?"

"My ankle," she answered in a quavering voice, pointing to her right leg.

Chiara probed the ankle with swift fingers. "It's broken," she told Thrawn tautly. "I can help with the pain, but she can't walk on it. You're going to have to carry her."

Thrawn's expression said everything she needed to know. With this setback, there was no way for them to reach the city before the next part of the storm hit. The best thing they could hope for was to find somewhere to ride out the initial, brutal wave and then try to make it the rest of the way. Pushing their looming danger out of her mind, she relaxed into the Force and carefully dampened the young girl's pain.

"What was that thing?" she asked Thrawn as she lifted Mitth'srak'inasa into his back and then picked Mitth'ixian'ith up so she could carry him in her arms. At least the snow had cushioned the boy's fall enough that he wasn't hurt when she had abruptly cut him free. She didn't want to waste any time in trying to repair or rig a new harness for him, though, so she simply carried the boy on one hip.

"_Nahn'rast'an'cat _is the only reptilian species that was able to adapt when the planet froze over," he told her. "It's ancestors burrowed beneath the dirt and lay in wait for their prey to wander within range for them to strike. The _Nahn'rast'an'cat _burrow beneath the snow and ice, down to the thermal vents that dot the planet. They use this to maintain their warmth and avoid freezing. They come up to the surface periodically for short amounts of time to hunt and lay in wait under a snowbank for their prey to come near. They are very stealthy and very clever hunters."

"Interesting. Do they often feed on something as large as a person?"

Thrawn's eyes glittered. "When I was completing my training on the surface, I saw one take down a _htisah'tin'casi_. The bigger their prey, the longer it takes them to digest."

"And the longer it is before they have to return to the surface to hunt again, so the bigger, the better," Chiara finished for him.

"Exactly."

"And I suppose they are likely to be out now to hunt before the next part of the storm hits. I should go first so I can try to guide us away from any more of those," she told him.

"A wise plan," Thrawn agreed.

They struggled on for another two hours before the wind started to pick up. Chiara glanced over her shoulder as a blast of icy air struck her from behind. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Ahh, Thrawn?" she called into her comm. "Look behind us."

Thrawn turned to look and muttered something under his breath. A dark wall of ominous gray was sweeping in towards them, a thick white blanket of snow obscuring the ground below it. "We need to find shelter. I doubt we will even be able to stand once that hits: the wind is likely to be twice the strength of anything we have experienced, thus far."

Chiara swallowed hard. "We had better cut back over towards the ice cliffs, then. We aren't going to find any shelter here, and it looks like we are nearing the edge of the cliffs.

Thrawn nodded wordlessly and broke into a quick jog, Mitth'srak'inaska bouncing along on his back. Shaking off her weariness, Chiara hurried along behind him, Mitth'saml'inas close on her heels. By the time they made it to the cliff the all-too-familiar blur of swirling snow had enveloped them again, wrapping them in a suffocating blanket of white. They slowed their pace and hugged the cliff wall, hoping to find a cave. The wind howled around them and threatened to knock them off their feet.

They had been battling with the winds and swirling snow for nearly an hour, struggling to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, when they finally found an opening in the cliff. They stumbled blindly in, not even pausing to do a proper search for any animals that might live there before they plunged inside. Chiara set Mitth'ixia'nith down and pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it to provide some light while Thrawn carefully set Mitth'srak'inaska down and dug through his pack for the glowrods. He passed one to Mitth'saml'inas and Chiara, then gestured for Chiara to join him as he searched the cave.

"I really didn't think a storm could get any worse than what we dealt with before," Chiara told him, switching to their private comm frequency. "This is absolutely incredible."

"I know," Thrawn told her, lifting his glowrod so he could see her. Chiara could see the tension lines etched into his face in the dim glow. "We are so close to the city. If this had just held off for a few more hours, we could have made it."

"How close are we?" she asked as they shone their lights into the corners of the cave, checking for any animals that might be sheltering from the storm.

"No more than two _visvia_. The ice cliffs are exactly one and a half _visvia_ from the nearest launch tube. There's an entrance that leads down to the surface near there, as well. We will never find it in this much wind and blowing snow, though."

Chiara put an arm around him as they moved farther back into the cave. "Don't give up now. We're too close. If we can just hold out for a few days, maybe it will let up enough for us to make it the rest of the way."

Thrawn stopped and put both arms around her waist, pulling her gently to him. "I will not give up as long as I can still draw breath. We have too much ahead of us for that and we have nothing to lose by trying to make it to the city. We will wait a day or two to see if the storm lessens. Hopefully, it will. If not, we will just have to risk it and hope that your Jedi powers are enough to guide us to one of the entrances of the city."

She rested her helmeted head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, wishing once again that she could actually touch him. They stood quietly together for a moment, neither wanting to move. When she finally opened her eyes again, she noticed something on the floor of the cave that she hadn't seen before.

"Thrawn, is that what I think it is?" she asked, pointing.

Thrawn looked at the spot she indicated, then went over and knelt down to examine the object on the floor. His glowrod clearly showed the skeleton of a medium sized animal, picked clean of all meat and hide. His glowing eyes searched around the cave, locating two more skeletons nearby, then looked up at her. "We seem to have found ourselves in the lair of a _htisah'tin'casi_," he said tautly. "Don't tell the others. There is nowhere else for us to go and there is no point in worrying them. You and I will just have to keep watch in case it returns."

They finished scouting out the rest of the cave and circled back to where Mitth'saml'inas and her children were huddled. Snow as drifting through the mouth of the cave and piling up around their feet. "The cave is clear," Thrawn told them, picking Mitth'srak'inaska up gently. "Let's move farther back, where we will have a bit more shelter from the storm."

Chiara pulled the blankets out of her pack and wrapped one around Mitth'srak'inaska's shoulders after Thrawn set the girl down where she could lean against the cave wall. "How is your ankle?" she asked.

"It hurts," the girl told her, biting her lower lip to keep it from trembling.

Chiara put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's okay, I can dull the pain again." She reached out to the Force and set to work. She felt Mitth'srak'inaska relax after a moment.

"I'm sorry I made everything harder," she told Chiara seriously when she opened her eyes again. "Maybe you should just leave me behind when you head for the city, again. I'm just going to slow you down."

Chiara looked at the young Chiss in shock. "Mitth'srak'inaska, don't talk that way. We are not leaving you behind. I promised you that I would do my best to get you home, didn't I? And I still have to show you all the things my lightsaber can do. We will get you you home and the medics will be able to fix your ankle up. It's going to be okay."

"Do you promise?"

Chiara took a deep breath. _Please don't let this be a lie._ "I promise."


	23. Chapter 22

AN: Thank you for the review, Theo! And, nope, I can't let them get off easily, gotta build the suspense, here. ;) I don't want to give away the ending and take away from the suspense, but I promise I will wrap up this mess I have gotten them into in the next two days. Meanwhile, I'm afraid you are going to have even more suspense until I get the next chapter edited and ready to post... BTW, your English is quite good! Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 22**

An hour later, Thrawn and Chiara sat huddled silently together in the cave as they listened to the wind howling outside. Under cover of the blankets they were sharing, Thrawn had his arms wrapped around Chiara, comforting and trying to keep her warm. The temperatures had fallen sharply with this new stormfront and their environmental suits could no longer adequately keep out the chill.

Chiara was only semi-aware of his touch, lost in concentration as she tried to push her awareness as far out as she could with the Force, hoping she could sense the inhabitants of the city. They were too far, though, and all she could pick up was a few animals that were cowering in their dens, nearby. Giving up, she sighed and leaned her head tiredly against Thrawn's shoulder. He put a gloved hand on her helmet and looked down at her.

"Why don't you try to sleep? It's still only mid-day, but I daresay you could use the rest," he suggested. "I'll keep watch in case the _htisahtin'casi_ returns."

"Alright," she agreed. "But wake me if anything happens, or when you need to sleep."

"I will," he promised.

Chiara curled up on the floor off the cave, wrapped in her blanket, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Darkness came early, that night, brought on by the thick cloud cover and driving snow. They shared rations again, leaving five bars to get them through however long they were trapped in the cave. Thrawn and Chiara took turns keeping watch that night, fearing that the _htisahtin'casi _might find its way back to its lair sometime during the blind night. It was almost morning and Thrawn's watch when a shout in her helmet comm woke her. She bolted upright just in time to see what appeared to be a large snowball launch itself at Thrawn, snarling at him. It took her brain a moment to register that this wasn't a snowball, it was a huge, white feline with wicked looking teeth and long claws that were raking at Thrawn. _Htisahtin'casi_, she thought in alarm as she leaped to her feet. Thrawn tried to back away from the beast and pulled his charric from his belt, firing at the huge cat. It snarled in pain as a blue bolt burned into its flank, but came on anyway. Chiara had her lightsaber out, now and was lunging towards them when Thrawn lost his footing on the uneven ground and fell. The huge predator was on him in an instant, raking its long claws into his shoulders. Chiara was right behind it, swinging her lightsaber in a shallow arc that left a long scorch mark down the beast's shoulder. With it on top of Thrawn, she was afraid to deal it a killing blow; if her hand slipped at all, she could easily kill Thrawn, too.

Angered by the pain and temporarily distracted from Thrawn's vulnerable position, the _htisahtin'casi _bared its teeth and stalked towards her, its front claws leaving bloody tracks in the snow. Chiara backed towards the entrance of the cave, luring it away from Thrawn so she could safely dispatch the predator. Once they were far enough away, she brought her silvery blade down in a smooth motion that was meant to remove its head, but the cat reared up on its hind legs and batted at the blur of bright light with one huge paw. It screamed in pain as the blade cut through flesh and bone and fell to the ground, holding its injured paw off the snowpacked floor. Chiara plunged her lightsaber into its head, putting an end to its wailing snarl. Barely giving the cat another thought, she flicked off her lightsaber and hurried over to where Thrawn still lay.

"Thrawn?" Chiara called, dropping to her knees beside him. His environmental suit had several ragged tears and she could see deep gashes in his shoulders and upper back from the _htisahtin'casi_'s claws.

Thrawn groaned and pushed himself upright. "I didn't even see it come in," he told her. A violent shiver racked his body as the cold air flowed in through the rents in his suit.

"Snow camouflage. Mitth'saml'inas, please bring me my pack and one of the blankets."

For once, the woman didn't argue. Clearly still a bit shaken at what had just happened, she brought Chiara the items she had requested. She quickly folded one of the blankets in half and wrapped around Thrawn's shoulders, trying to cover the damage to the suit. "At least you're not bleeding much," she told him. "It's so cold that the blood is freezing over the wounds. Hold this," she ordered Mitth'saml'inas, indicating the blanket. She dug through her pack and found the tube of synthflesh. Improvising, she lifted the edges of the blanket where it met the still-intact part of Thrawn's suit and squeezed out a thin line of the sticky substance. She carefully pressed the edges back down, creating a seal to block out the arctic air.

She got about half-way around when the tube ran out. "Thrawn, do you have more of this in your pack?" she asked tautly. With the temperatures as low as they were, even a small hole in his suit could prove deadly, and he still had several large tears crisscrossing his ravaged shoulders.

"That's all we had," Thrawn told her. Chiara swore under her breath and dug through her pack, looking for something else to use, but there was nothing. She retrieved Thrawn's pack, too, but that search also proved fruitless.

"Use the rope," Thrawn suggested. "It won't be airtight, but at least it will hold it in place. That will help some."

Chiara cut two lengths from the rope and stepped around in front of Thrawn. His face contorted with pain as she drew the rope snugly around his shoulders and tied it tightly in front of his chest, but he didn't complain. "I know it hurts," she murmured in Basic. "I'll take care of that in a minute. We need to keep you warm, first."

"We should have brought an extra suit," he muttered.

"It's easy to see these things in retrospect," she agreed, securing the second rope and then stepping around him to check her handiwork. "We also should have brought more synthflesh. This isn't going to do a good enough job of keeping out the cold."

"It will have to be enough," he told her.

Chiara rested her hands lightly on his torn shoulders and stretched out to the Force. Thrawn gave an audible sigh of relief as the pain subsided. Gently, she wrapped another blanket around him and checked the internal temperature gauge built into the collar of his suit. The temperature inside the suit had dropped by over ten degrees before she had been able to cover the damage and try to prevent further heat loss. The temperature dipped even lower before her eyes, going down by a tenth of a degree. Hoping that the suit was just trying to stabilize the temperature, she watched for a few more minutes, but the temperature continued to fall in tiny increments.

She moved around to sit in front of him, concern etched on her features. Thrawn's glowing eyes were closed and he had a resigned look on his face. "Thrawn..."

"I know," he said simply, opening his eyes to look at her. "The suit cannot handle these temperatures while damaged." He let out a breath sharply. "I'm sorry, Chiara. This is my fault for not being more alert and seeing the _htisahtin'casi _sooner. Promise me that you won't blame yourself for this, and that you will make it back to Csaplar."

"What? Don't you dare give up on me now, Thrawn!" she exclaimed. "There has to be another way. I can't just let you freeze to death."

"There is nothing left for us to use to seal the suit. There's nothing that can be done, at this point," he told her, a look of sadness in his glowing eyes.

She shook her head, not willing to give up yet. "No. I'm not giving up. You said we are only two _ visvia_ from the city, right? We're just going to have to try to make it the rest of the way through the storm."

Thrawn's eyes widened. "That would be suicidal. I won't let you do that."

"It's only suicidal if you don't have a Jedi around. Please, Thrawn, I can do this. Trust me," she begged.

He regarded her silently for a moment. "You are sure that you won't be throwing your life away needlessly? You can really find the city?"

"I am relatively certain that I can. What difference does it make anyway, though? If we stay here and try to wait out the storm, we're going to starve to death and you know it. It's not going to let up any time soon. I would rather die out there, trying to do something, than sit here and watch you freeze," she told him.

Thrawn looked at her for a long moment. "If you want to do this, I am willing to try," he finally said.

Chiara nodded. "Okay." She picked up a ration bar from the pile of on the floor of the cave and handed it to him. "Eat that. All of it. We're all going to need our strength. Either we will be in Csaplar by tomorrow or we will beyond the point where rationing our food will do any good," she ordered him.

She moved to where Mitth'saml'inas looked on with her children and handed them each one of the remaining ration bars. "Change of plans. We're going to have to try to make it back to Csaplar, today. Eat that and then see if you can tie one of the blankets around the children to help keep them warm. Mitth'saml'inas, you're going to have to carry Mitth'ixia'nith; Thrawn is in no condition to carry anyone. I'll take Mitth'srak'inaska." She gazed steadily at the other woman, waiting for her to object.

"I understand," the Chiss said softly, her glowing eyes flicking to where Thrawn sat, eating his own ration. "He is your mate, and we have to try."


	24. Chapter 23

AN: Thanks for the follow, dest03eyer!

Theo, you have no idea how excited I got when you called Thrawn "our beloved hero." I was wondering if I could really get people to stop seeing him as the bad guy who just about wipes out the New Republic in the trilogy, and clearly I have accomplished that. :D It sure is a good thing they have Chiara!

* * *

**Chapter 23  
**

"Okay, are we ready?" Chiara asked, looking at her companions. Mitth'ixia'nith was wrapped in a blankets and snuggled into his harness on his mother's back. Mitth'srak'inaska was similarly bundled in a blanket, though her arms and legs were free so that she would be able to cling to Chiara's back.

"I am ready," Mitth'saml'inas told her, adjusting the harness on her shoulders.

Chiara helped Thrawn to his feet. He pulled her before she could move away and folded her in his arms. Mindful of his injuries, Chiara returned his embrace gently. "No mater what happens today, I love you," he told her. "Choosing to share my life with you is the best decision I have ever made."

She leaned her helmet against his. "I love you. I don't regret a single thing I have left behind or given up for you. This will not be our end, though. We will make it through this," she vowed.

The look in Thrawn's eyes told her that he didn't quite believe that he would make it, but he just nodded. "Let us go."

Chiara paused to tie the rope around their waists so they wouldn't get separated and then helped Mitth'sraks'inaska climb up on her back. Checking the compass one last time, she lead the way out of the cave and into the fury of the storm. The force of the wind nearly knocked Chiara off her feet and the snow fell so heavily that she felt like was staring into a blank wall of white. She couldn't even see her hand when she held it up in front of her unless she pressed it to her faceplate. Tugging gently on the rope so the other two would know which way to turn, she started off through the knee-deep snow.

Their progress was painstakingly slow. At times, Chiara felt like she was swimming through snow, rather than walking. She alternated between checking the compass to make sure they were heading in the right direction and stretching out in the Force to try and find the city and its occupants. They had been trudging along for over an hour when Chiara finally felt a faint flicker of life from ahead of them.

"Thrawn, I can sense them!" she exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. After the prolonged silence they had adopted during their arduous march, her voice sounded loud in her own ears.

"How close?" he asked, teeth chattering with cold.

Chiara glanced in his direction and reached out for him with the Force; his cold and pain burned in her mind. "I'm not exactly sure, it's still too faint to tell. We must be close, though. How are you holding up?"

"We should keep moving," he told her, ignoring her question.

Stowing the compass in her pocket and focusing on the life she could sense ahead of them, Chiara lead them forward through the blind snow. They continued for about another thirty minutes before Thrawn began to stumble.

"Thrawn, are you okay?" Chiara asked in concern. She could almost feel the burning pain radiating off him through the Force.

"I c-c-can't feel my f-f-feet," he stuttered, clearly having a hard time forcing the words through cold lips and chattering teeth.

_Frostbite is setting in_, Chiara realized, a cold blade of fear for him twisting in her gut. "I think we are about two kilometers from the city," she told him. "Just hang on."

"I'm-m-m trying," he told her tiredly.

They trudged along for another hour, fighting to stay upright in the gale-force winds. Chiara could feel the city slowly growing in her mind as they drew ever-so-slowly closer. Thrawn's stumbles became more frequent as the cold sapped at his strength, and he fell several times. By the fourth fall, he didn't get up.

Chiara tugged on the rope that connected her to Mitth'saml'inas, signaling her to stop as she dropped to her knees in the deep snow beside Thrawn. She groped for his arm in the blinding snow. "Thrawn, get up," she encouraged him. "We are so close."

"Chiara," he said wearily, "I can't. Just go on without me. You can still make it."

"No," she said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving without you. We're too close for you to give up now." She noted that his teeth had stopped chattering and that she could no longer feel him shivering. _He's going into hypothermia_, she realized with a sinking feeling. She leaned forward and pressed her faceplate against his so she could see him through the swirling snow. His eyes were closed and his skin was a sickly shade of blue. The expression of utter exhaustion on his face wrenched her heart. "Thrawn, look at me. Please." She had to wait a long moment before he finally complied. Even his glowing eyes seemed to be burning low. "Please, don't give up. Not now. I know you're tired. I know you're hurt. But we are almost there. And you still have to take me to that planet with the bioluminescent fauna. You promised we would swim together in the lake with the fish that glow. You promised me. Please," she begged him. "Get up. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for me."

He held her gaze for what seemed like an eternity before he sighed and struggled onto all fours in the snow. Chiara put her arms around his waist and helped pull him to his feet. He staggered a bit in the wind, but remained upright. She bent down so Mitth'srak'inaska could climb back up on her back and straightened. She draped one of Thrawn's arms over her shoulder, holding his steady and helping to support some of his weight. She felt Mitth'saml'inas appear on the other side to help Thrawn along, too.

Together, the three of them trudged doggedly along, step by painful step. They had been moving along together for nearly another hour when Chiara sensed that they had arrived at the outskirts of the city.

"We're here," she announced, bringing them to a halt. She helped Mitth'srak'inaska down from her aching back and then eased Thrawn down into the snow. "Mitth'saml'inas, stay here with Thrawn. Keep him talking and don't let him fall asleep. I'm going to try to find a way for us to get into the city."

"I'll do my best," Mitth'saml'inas said, sinking wearily into the snow next to Thrawn.

Chiara untied the rope from around her waist and trudged off into the snow, hoping desperately that they hadn't come all this way just to freeze to death above the city because they couldn't find a way in. She forced herself to take a deep breath and relax. _Peace over anger, honor over hate, strength over fear_, she reminded herself. She closed her eyes against the blinding snow that swirled around her and gave herself over to the Force, allowing it to guide her feet.

After about ten minutes of battling through the wind, a quiet peace overwhelmed her and she slowed to a stop. She dropped to her knees in the snow, not sure what it was that the Force had lead her to. She put out a hand to search through the drifts of snow and stopped as her glove snagged on something. She shoveled the snow aside with her hands and leaned forward to press her faceplate to the object. It was something metal. She groped blindly forward and suddenly found herself grasping at empty air. _It's one of the launch tubes!_ Her heart leaped with joy.

Fatigue and aching back suddenly forgotten, she jumped to her feet and sprinted back towards where she had left Thrawn and the others as quickly as she could in the wind and snow, marking her path mentally so she could locate the tunnel again.

"I found it!" she gasped as she dashed up to them. "I found away in. There's a launch tube not far from here. We just have to climb down and we will be able to get through to the city."

She could feel a ripple of surprise and excitement from Mitth'saml'inas. "We are truly going to make it," she said in obvious relief.

Thrawn made no reaction. Chiara reached out to him with the Force. "Thrawn?"

"He lost consciousness just a few moments ago," Mitth'saml'inas told her gravely. "I'm sorry, I tried to keep him awake..."

"It's not your fault," Chiara told her numbly, her stomach solidifying into a hard knot. She could still feel his presence in the Force, but it was weak. "Can you carry both Mitth'ixia'nith and Mitth'srak'inaska? I am going to have to carry Thrawn. It's not far."

"I think so," Mitth'saml'inas told her, picking up Mitth'srak'inaska so the girl could cling to her front. Drawing on the Force to supplement her own waning strength, Chiara picked Thrawn up and balanced him over her shoulders. Weighed down by their burdens, it took Chiara and Mitth'saml'inas almost three times as long to reach the opening again.

"How are we going to get down?" Mitth'saml'inas asked. "The tubes usually have a relatively steep grade near the surface to help keep the predators out."

Chiara considered. "I suppose I will have to lower you down with a rope," she told the other woman. She knelt down and dug through the few remaining items that she had left in her pack; she had left most of the gear that they wouldn't need back in the cave to lighten the load a bit. She untied the rope from their waists and joined that one together with the longer rope from her pack, hoping it would be long enough. "I probably should lower you down first," she said. She helped Mitth'saml'inas don the one harness she had brought with them and over edge of the tunnel and began lowering her into the darkness that waited below. She was nearing the end of the rope and her muscles were beginning to protest when Mitth'saml'inas finally reached the bottom.

"I'm down," her voice came over Chiara's comm. "I'm taking off the harness now."

Chiara waited until she signaled that she was clear, then pulled the harness back up and slipped it onto Thrawn. She dragged him to the side of the tunnel and carefully eased him over the side. His dead weight pulled at her arms, straining her shoulders as she fought to lower him slowly.

"I have him," Mitth'saml'inas told her. Chiara brought the harness up as quickly as she could and helped Mitth'srak'inaska into it.

"See?" she told the girl. "I promised you that I would get us home."

Although she couldn't see it through the snow, Chiara could sense the girl's solemn nod. "A Jedi always does what they promise, don't they?" she asked.

Chiara smiled. "Yes, we do. Now, I'm going to add your brother to the rope, too. The harness we've been carrying him in should do just fine for this, as well. Hold him tight so he doesn't bounce around too much, okay?"

"Okay."

Chiara let them down as quickly as she dared, then drove one of the climbing spikes into the ice at the edge and tied anchored the rope to it. Throwing her legs over the side, she slid down the steep incline of the tunnel wall, using the rope to keep herself from picking up too much speed. She jerked to a stop at the bottom to avoid running into Mitth'saml'inas and her children. If the blowing snow had been blinding on the surface, the darkness of the tunnel was equally blinding. Chiara unclipped her lightsaber and ignited it with a _snap-hiss_, casting a pale silver light around the tunnel. Thrawn lay on his back, unmoving. She could see the chest of his suit moving as he breathed, but it was a rapid, shallow motion. _I have to get him to the medics now,_ she thought urgently, feeling his starting to slip away in the Force. She glanced at him, then at the tunnel that stretched out in front of her and made up her mind.

"Stay here. I'm going to go get help. It will be faster than us trying to carry them the rest of they way," she told Mitth'saml'inas. Without even waiting for a reply, she closed down her lightsaber, plunging them into darkness, and took off at a dead run down the slippery surface of the launch of tube. The tunnel continued for early a kilometer before ending abruptly in a huge set of doors. Chiara skidded to a halt just in time to avoid careening into the door and searched for a control panel to open it, but there was nothing.

_No,_ she thought desperately. _We didn't just come down here only to be trapped mere meters from the city_. She flicked her lightsaber back on and examined the door in the faint glow. Ice clung to its surface, reflecting the light of her lightsaber back at her. _This will take too long to cut through_, she thought in despair. _Thrawn may not have that long._ Nonetheless, there were no better options before her. She plunged her lightsaber in to the hilt and watched as the metal surrounding it slowly heated up and began to melt. Then, to her surprise, the huge doors groaned and began to slide open. Her foot slid out from under her on the ice-slickened surface of the tunnel as she took a step back and she landed hard on her back. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, she looked up and saw two Chiss step into the tunnel, charrics in hand.

"What in the name of the Ascendency are you doing out here?" the first Chiss demanded as they hurried over and knelt beside her.

"We've been trapped on the surface," she told them, pushing herself into a sitting position in spite of the protests from her muscles. "Please, get a medical team. Thrawn is hurt and so is Mitth'srak'inaska."

"Thrawn? Mitth'srak'inaska? You don't mean-" There was a flicker of surprise from the second Chiss peered at her through the dim light that filtered in from the hangar. "You're the outsider. Everyone thought you and the Commander were dead, and the Aristocra's family as good as dead. How can you be here?"

"It's a long story, but we're all here. Now, you need to call the medics, Thrawn has hypothermia and he's in bad shape," she begged him, but there was no need- the first Chiss was already speaking urgently into his commlink.

"They are on their way," he told her. "Let's get you inside where it is warm while we wait."


	25. Chapter 24

AN:Theo, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you've enjoyed these stories. I definitely agree, Thrawn was just misunderstood in the Thrawn trilogy. That, and as you said, his exile and Imperial service changed him. I'm interested to see just what being married to a Jedi does to subvert or alter those changes and if he can keep that idealism. As far as his early Imperial service and adventures in the Unknown regions are concerned, stay tuned! There will be some of that in the next story. Although, I should warn you to be careful what you wish for... *insert ominous wiggling of eyebrows here*

* * *

**Chapter 24  
**

Chiara was sitting alone in the medbay, wrapped in a blanket and eating a bowl of steaming hot soup when Anisi appeared.

"Chiara!" the pettite woman exclaimed, hurrying over to her. "It is such a relief to see you alive. When you didn't come back after a few days, everyone assumed the worst. What happened?"

"I'm afraid we wrecked your ship. We put it down on an ice ledge on one of the cliffs because it was the only place to land while we went and got Mitth'saml'inas and her children. We think an ice boulder must have fallen while we were gone, though, because the ledge was broken and the ship was gone by the time we got back," Chiara told her. "The life support in their ship was damaged, so we couldn't even go back there. We decided it was better to try to make it back to the city than to give up and wait to die."

"You made it back on foot?" Anisi asked in shocked amazement.

Chiara nodded. "Thrawn is in serious condition, though. His suit was damaged when he was attacked by a _ htisahtin'casi_, this morning. He has frostbite and hypothermia."

Anisi sat down beside her on the bed and put a comforting hand on her arm. "Our medics are very experienced in treating these conditions. He will be alright."

"I hope so," she shivered. "I'm sorry about your ship."

Anisi shook her head. "Don't trouble yourself over it. As long as you and Thrawn are safe, I can live with losing the ship. I still can't believe that you were able to walk across the surface in the middle of a blizzard and survive. How did you avoid getting lost and how did you manage to find a way back into the city? I heard you came in through one of the launch tubes."

"Thankfully, you packed a compass for us and Thrawn knew what direction we needed to head. Once we got close enough to the city, I could sense the people here and was able to guide us the rest of the way in. Otherwise, I think we probably would have walked right past it and never known," Chiara told her.

"And once again, your Jedi powers prove their worth," Anisi murmured. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Aristocra himself invites you and Thrawn to his home once Thrawn recovers. You took quite gamble by going out there, but it certainly paid off."

Chiara sighed and pulled the blanket a little more tightly around herself. "I didn't do it for the political gain, Anisi. Yes, I did think about that and I'm glad it will most likely be beneficial for Thrawn and me. I did it because I am a Jedi and I have a duty to protect those whom I can and to save those whom I can."

Anisi looked at her. "And this is what makes you truly unique and even more valuable. You serve others without thought for personal gain. The Ascendency could use more of that."

Just then, the door slid open and one of the medics came in. "Commander Mitth'rawn'nuruodo conscious and in stable condition. You may see him now, if you wish," he told Chiara.

"Go on," Anisi told her, squeezing her arm encouragingly. "I'll let you two have some time alone. I'll drop in later to see how you are both doing."

Chiara smiled at her gratefully, thinking how fortunate she was to have the Chiss woman as a friend. She turned and followed the medic to a treatments suite a few doors down. The gentle hum and beep of medical equipment greeted her as she stepped inside. The bed at the center of the room was covered in a large archway that was designed to return Thrawn's frostbitten limbs gradually to the correct temperature to avoid further damage. Only his head and upper shoulder were visible outside of the equipment and, despite what the medic had told her about him being conscious, his eyes were closed. She could see where several tubes had been hooked into a port that was attached to his neck, delivering vital fluids and nutrients to speed his recovery.

She pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, clutching her blanket around her to drive out the lingering chill that she hadn't yet been able to shake. Thrawn opened his eyes at the sound of the chair scraping across the floor.

"Thrawn!" Chiara exclaimed, hurrying over to him. His eyes, she noticed, were much clearer and burned with a steady fire.

"Chiara," he greeted her. "I'm told I owe you my life, once again."

She blushed. "It was nothing. How do you feel?"

"Always so modest," he observed mildly. "I would not say that I feel well, but the medics assure me that there will be no permanent damage. It will take a few days to complete the tissue regeneration process, but we have the technology to repair frostbite rather effectively."

"I'm sorry I dragged you out into this mess. You're the one that is suffering for it."

"There is no need to apologize. You kept us all alive and you kept me going when I wanted to give up. You are an incredible woman, Chiara Matao. No one else could have gotten us through that alive, yet you did. You will never cease to amaze me," he told her.

"I hope not," she murmured, moving close enough to plant a kiss on his forehead. She stroked his cheek gently, noting that his skin was still noticeably cool to the touch. "Do you know what I hated most about those environmental suits?"

"What?"

"Being isolated from you. Obviously, I could see you and hear you, but I missed being able to touch you or hear your heart beat when you held me," she told him.

"Odd, I had the same thoughts," he told her with a small smile. "Except I most missed being able to kiss you."

"At least that is something that is easily corrected, now," she told him with a smile, leaning over and brushing her lips against his. Just then, the door slid open behind them. Chiara straightened and turned to see Thrass hurry in.

"What in the Ascendency were you thinking?" he demanded. "Going up to the surface in the middle of a storm of this magnitude? We all thought you were dead."

"But we're not," Chiara told him. "And we brought the Aristocra's family back. I would think you would be pleased with that, Thrass."

"I would, if you hadn't both been risking your lives so recklessly," he told her stiffly.

"Thrass, it was not a reckless decision. Chiara has abilities far beyond that of anyone else in the Ascendency and she also knows her limits. She said that she could handle a ship in the storm and find the Aristocra's family and I trusted her. You will notice that she did all of these things perfectly," Thrawn told his brother.

"Yet you still had to walk back to Csaplar through one of the worst blizzards we have had in a decade," Thrass pointed out.

"That was hardly my fault, Thrass. I can't predict that an ice boulder is going to fall where we left the ship and destroy our ride back. If that hadn't happened, we would have been back days ago, none the worse for wear," Chiara told him.

"And it was still her skills that got us back, even if we had to do it on foot," Thrawn said pointedly.

Thrass shook his head at both of them and sighed. "I suppose I should just be grateful that you are both alive. The medics tell me that you will recover," he said, looking at his brother.

"In a few days," Thrawn replied, closing his eyes.

"I should leave you to rest. I am glad you are back," Thrass told them. His eyes flicked to Chiara. "Both of you."

* * *

An hour or so later, one of the medics appeared to check on Thrawn and told Chiara that she would have to leave for the night. No amount of protesting would change his mind, so Chiara eventually gave up, told Thrawn goodnight and headed home.

Much to her surprise, several Chiss she had never met before, all wearing the burgundy colors of the Eighth Ruling Family, stopped her on the way home to thank her for rescuing the Aristocra's family. She accepted their thanks as gracefully as she could in her exhausted and disheveled condition and continued on her way. When she finally arrived at their house, it felt almost odd to be there, knowing that Thrawn wouldn't be coming home in a few hours. She headed to the 'fresher first, stripping off the clothes she had been living in for several days, now, and turning on the hot water. She sighed with relief as she stepped under the deliciously warm spray, letting it drive away the lingering chill and the aches that still clung to her from their long and arduous journey.

Too spent emotionally and physically to even bother dressing again when she finally stepped out of the 'fresher, Chiara climbed wearily into bed. After so many nights of sleeping on the icy ground, the sheets felt like silk against her skin and the bed was a cloud of comfort for her aching muscles. She ran a hand over Thrawn's empty pillow, wishing she could feel his strong arms around her and feeling guilty that he wasn't there because of her stubbornness in insisting they go after Mitth'saml'inas and her family. She lay there in the darkness for several minutes. wondering if he felt as lonely as she did. Chiara stretched out in the Force, wondering if she could find sense him from so far away amongst the clamor of so many minds. She was pleasantly surprised to find that, even at this distance, she could still find his presence in the Force with surprisingly little difficulty. _Maybe it's because I've grown so familiar with him and with the way his presence feels_, she thought. She could vaguely feel his discomfort as the regeneration process rebuilt his damaged nerves and skin, as well as his impatience and something else that she couldn't quite identify. Clearly, he was still awake and finding it as hard to sleep as she was. Finally, making up her mind, she rolled out of bed and slipped on some fresh clothes.

She stole silently through the streets and into the medbay, easily eluding the few night patrols that were scattered around the base. Arriving at Thrawn's room, she keyed the door open and slipped inside. Thrawn's eyes shot open as the door slid shut behind her. "Thrawn, it's me," she told him softly.

She saw his glowing eyes move in the darkness as he picked his head up off the pillow to look at her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep," she confessed. "It didn't seem like you were sleeping, either, so I thought I would come and spend the night with you."

"The medics won't be happy to find you here in the morning," he told her.

"Let them be unhappy. It's better than neither of us getting sleep," she pointed out.

"It is, indeed," Thrawn agreed.

* * *

When the medics arrived in the morning to check on Thrawn, they found Chiara curled up in the chair at his bedside, her head laying on the edge of his pillow and one hand resting gently on his cheek, both of them sleeping soundly.


	26. Chapter 25

AN: Theo, I did indeed just promise another story. :) I'm glad you like the end result of Thrawn and Chiara's little escapade. I try really hard to update every day, or at least ever other!

* * *

**Chapter 25  
**

It was around mid-afternoon and the medics had just removed the warming and regeneration arch from Thrawn when Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik arrived.

"Commander, it is good to see that you are mending," the Aristocra said, striding over to stand at Thrawn's bedside.

"Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik, welcome," Thrawn greeted him. "I trust your family is also on the path to recovery."

The Aristocra regarded him with glowing eyes. "They are indeed, thanks to you. I cannot thank you enough for what you did. When I heard the news that their ship had gone down, I did not expect to see them again. Yet you risked your lives and accomplished truly formidable feats to save them."

"Those feats were Chiara's doing," Thrawn advised him. "She is the one who flew the ship safely through the storm and located your family without sensors. No one else could have possibly done that."

"Yes," the Aristocra said, turning to Chiara. "Mitth'saml'inas tells me that you also helped to make my children comfortable until their injuries could be properly treated. We are fortunate, indeed, to have you and your abilities among us and you have my undying gratitude, Jedi Master Chiara Matao."

"I do what I can," she answered softly. "You have a lovely family and I'm glad that I was able to help return them to you."

The Aristocra inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement, then turned back to Thrawn. "Once you have recovered, Commander, I would like to honor you two properly by hosting you for dinner with my family."

"We would be honored to accept, Aristocra," Thrawn told him.

"Excellent," the Aristocra replied. "I have matters of state to attend to and must take my leave, but if you have need of anything, I am at your disposal. I thank you again for the service which you have rendered to me and to my family."

"It is an honor to serve the Chiss and to have the opportunity to protect your family," Thrawn replied formally.

* * *

Three days after their arrival in Csaplar, Thrawn was released to return home. The skin on his hands and feet where frostbite had set in were still mottled blue, but he had regained sensation and the medics assured him that the mottling would fade with a little more time. His regenerated skin and nerves were still overly sensitive, but the burning sensation that had plagued him for over a day while the the tissues were restored to health had finally faded.

Chiara walked beside him as they slowly threaded their way through the base towards their home. After she had snuck back in the first night, they had given up and simply allowed her to stay with him but he was still looking forward to having some private time with her.

"Commander," a voice called from behind him. Thrawn slowed to a halt and turned to see Admiral Ond'isckanti heading towards them.

"Admiral," Thrawn greeted him stiffly, easing himself between the Admiral and Chiara. He knew it was a futile gesture and would do nothing to shield her from the biting words the Admiral undoubtedly had in store for them, but it still made him feel a bit better.

"It is good to see you on your feet again," the Admiral said. "The Eighth Ruling Family owes you a great debt."

The Admiral had been from the Eighth family prior to being stripped of family rank and privilege when he was promoted to command in the Defense Fleet, Thrawn knew. This was supposed to allow him to serve without prejudice or preference towards any one Family, but clearly Ond'isckanti still remembered his Family. "The credit belongs to Chiara, Admiral. She did all of the work in locating them annd she is solely responsible for us finding the city and not just blundering about blindly in the storm."

Ond'isckanti's face tightened briefly as his gaze shifted over Thrawn's shoulder to Chiara, then came back to Thrawn. "Perhaps I judged your choce of mate too hastily. Foreign though she is, she has provied herself both capable and valuable," he said grudgingly.

"She has, indeed," Thrawn agreed, relaxing ever-so-slightly. He stepped to one side. "Admiral, may I present Jedi Master Chiara Matao. Chiara, this is Admiral Ond'isckanti."

"I am honored to meet one who has dedicated his life to protecting the Chiss," Chiara said, using the formal greeting Thrawn had taught her for senior officers.

The Admiral's surprise at Chiara's passable use of Cheunh, as well as the proper greeting was evident on his face. He quickly schooled his features back to a neutral expression. "It is an honor to serve," he replied a bit stiffly. "I thank you for your service, both here and on Csantri."

"I am grateful to have had the chance to contribute to the Ascendancy, Admiral. I look forward to continuing to do so," Chiara said smoothly. Thrawn was impressed by how easily she could come up with such a superb response.

The Admiral studied her for a moment, then turned back to Thrawn. "How long until you are cleared to return to duty, Commander?"

"Three days, sir."

"Excellent. I believe you will be pleased with the progress of the base at Crustai. Good day to you," he said, giving them a curt nod and continuing on his way.

"Was that the Admiral that gave you so much grief a few weeks ago about bringing me to Csilla?" Chiara asked Thrawn, switching to Basic.

"He is," Thrawn confirmed. "Our adventure seems to already be making a mark on the political climate around here."

"I don't know about you, but I'm okay with not having any more adventures for a while," Chiara told him wryly.

"As am I, though I always learn something new and surprising about you when we have them," he replied as they set off again.

"I'm sure you can learn new things about me without our lives being in danger," she laughed. "what new thing did you learn this time?"

"I learned that you aren't a martyr; you're a very compassionate woman. You cannot see someone suffering or in need and not help them, even if you know there will be a cost to yourself. And you're not just stubborn, you have an deep knowledge of yourself and your abilities, as well as an incredible strength of will. Without you, I'm fairly certain that Mitth'saml'inas and I would have simply resigned ourselves to our fate, rather than attempting to make it back to the city. I certainly wouldn't have continued trying after the _ htisahtin'casi _attack. Your indomitable will and determination is what kept us going."

Chiara absorbed this in silence for a moment as they walked. "I couldn't have done any of that without your trust," she told him, slipping her hand into his. The sensation in his fingers still felt slightly off, he noticed, but not unpleasantly so. "I know you couldn't quite believe that I could pull it off, but you chose to trust me anyway. I know that wasn't an easy thing for you to do."

"Every time you tell me you can do something, you follow through and do it. I have come to the conclusion that I may never fully understand all of your abilities, but I trust that you do," he told her, squeezing her hand gently.

"That is a great gift, Thrawn. I know it isn't easy to do," she said gratefully.

He smiled at her as they walked. "I am looking forward to going to Crustai with you. I look forward to having you at my side as I command and I suspect you will have ample opportunity to show me more of your Jedi skills. We will have many years to get to know each other better there, away from the political pressures of Csilla."

She put her arm around him under the pretense of supporting him as they walked. "I would like that a lot."


	27. Epilogue

AN: Okay, guys, time to wrap this story up! As stated in the previous chapter, there is another story in the works, so please make sure you follow me so you don't miss it. I think I should be ready to post it in a few days, if all goes well. Thanks for all the feedback on this story and I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, and may the Force be with you. :)

* * *

**Epilogue  
**

A few months later, Chiara stood on the bridge of the _Springhawk_, looking out at the asteroid that was to become their new home. The excavation was about to begin and they had come out for the ceremonies that always accompanied the establishment of a new base. She could see the flicker of maneuvering drives as the machinery was moved into position in the cave that she and Thrawn had discovered. She and Thrawn would stay aboard the _Springhawk _for a few days to supervise the beginning of the project before taking one of the small shuttles that was assigned to him as part of Picket Force Two and begin their planned tour of Chiss colonies as part of Thrawn's leave.

Unabashed in front of his bridge crew, Thrawn put his arms around her from behind. Chiara folded her hands over his as they gazed out the viewport together. "This is our next great adventure," Thrawn told her. "With the two of us together, I have the feeling that we will accomplish great things."

"And let the enemies of the Ascendancy beware," Chiara said with a grin.

Thrawn shook his head at her in amusement. "I was being serious," he chastised.

She turned to look at him. "So was I."


End file.
